SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's travel account deficit fell to the lowest in 11 months on the rising number of Chinese tourists, central bank data showed Friday.

The travel account deficit was 1.31 billion U.S. dollars in March, marking the lowest since April last year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It came as Chinese travelers visiting South Korea turned upward in 13 months. The number of Chinese tourists was 403,000 in March, up 11.8 percent from a year earlier.

Helped by the growing Chinese travelers, the number of foreigners visiting South Korea advanced 10.7 percent over the year to 1,366,000 in March.

Services account deficit was 2.25 billion dollars in March, the lowest since May last year thanks to the falling travel account deficit.

Current account balance, the broadest measure of cross-border capital flow, logged a surplus of 5.18 billion dollars in March, staying in the black for 73 months in a row.

It was attributed to the continued trade surplus for goods, which reached 9.88 billion dollars in March.

Exports, which account for about half of the export-driven economy, amounted to 52.78 billion dollars, keeping an upward trend for 17 straight months. The continued growth came amid strong demand for locally-made chips and the recovering manufacturing industry in the global market.

Imports stood at 42.9 billion dollars, rising for the 17th consecutive month.