Korea sees strong travel demand amid lifted restrictions

There is growing demand for travel to Japan as the Japanese government has eased travel restrictions in two years. With easing of regulations on self-isolation for unvaccinated children, there are also more inquiries on travels to Southeast Asia, a popular family travel destination,.

The Osaka-Kobe travel package designed by Verygoodtour (1,365 seats) was completely sold out in two hours, according to travel sources on Sunday. The two night and three day tour will leave from July to December and includes air travel, business hotel stays and guide tips, priced around 490,000 to 520,000 won. For non-discounted travel packages (around 540,000 to 790,000 won), 1,924 customers signed up, which was 6.7 times higher than the number of travelers to Japan over the last five months. “We receive 200-300 calls daily on the weekends on package deals including a free day schedule, with more than 3,000 signing up for five days,” said an employee at Verygoodtour.

YB Tour said that the number of bookings for Japanese package deals leaving in July and August increased by seven fold from the previous month. The number of Japanese tour package bookings made between May 16 and 21 increased 139% from the previous week.

Japan lifted entry restrictions in two years and two months and has decided to allow international group travelers booking through local travel agencies. International travelers from 98 countries including Korea will no longer be required to COVID 19 testing and self-isolation even if they do not have COVID vaccination records. Air travel between Gimpo Airport and Haneda is expected to increase as well. Travel demand to Japan is expected to increase further once no visa entry is permitted, which had been suspended since COVID.

International travel for Korean travelers has become less burdensome with eased self-isolation requirements for unvaccinated children, which has been adjusted from six years of age to 12 years. The number of bookings for overseas travel packages at Modoo Tour from May 13 to 26 rose 230% compared to two weeks earlier (April 29 to May 12). Booking demand was highest by destinations of Thailand (360%), Vietnam (350%), Singapore (320%), Saipan (250%) and Guam (110%).


Dong-Jin Shin shine@donga.com