Combined card spending by inbound tourists from seven major markets — the United States, Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand — increased 26 percent over the past year, supported by a sharp rise in visitor numbers, while spending by Taiwanese and Hong Kong travelers surged more than 50 percent, marking the fastest growth among them, according to Visa on Tuesday. Notably, Taiwan in fourth place and Hong Kong in sixth showed particularly strong growth, as their card spending jumped 54 percent and 50 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year. By contrast, card spending by tourists from Thailand declined by 14 percent, causing it to drop one spot in the rankings. The decrease is linked to the controversy over frequent refusals of the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) for Thai travelers. Tourists from Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan recorded especially high rates of contactless use, as tap-to-pay is already a common part of everyday transactions in their home countries.