A traveler about to travel. [사진 = 부킹닷컴]Where did Koreans make the most reservations for Family Month in May after social distancing was lifted? Overseas, European regions such as Spain and France were selected along with the United States, and Jeju region recorded an overwhelming market share in Korea.
The travel trends and travel destinations recently released by Booking.com based on big data on the reservation status of Korean travelers for May (May 1 to 31, 2022) are attracting attention.
For long-distance routes, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, Germany, the United Kingdom, Guam and Vietnam made the top 10. All Koreans can enter the country without quarantine if they have been vaccinated. Eight of these countries are more than 10 hours away by flight time. As the sky road opens, it is analyzed as a signal that the long-distance travel that was unthinkable in the Corona era will begin in earnest.
In fact, according to a survey 3 by Booking.com last year, 31% of Koreans said they would like to travel as far as possible if travel restrictions are lifted.
According to Booking.com, “Half (50%) said that they are saving money instead of going on special trips after the pandemic, so it seems to reflect the sentiment of retaliatory consumption for overseas travel that has been suppressed.”
In Korea, Seogwipo and Jeju ranked first and second in reservations, respectively, indicating that Jeju Island is still very popular.
Following that, Seoul, Busan, Gyeongju, Sokcho, Yeosu, Gangneung, Incheon, Jeonju, Geoje, Pyeongchang, Yangyang, Mokpo, and Tongyeong entered the top 15 in that order.
In particular, 11 areas including Seogwipo and Jeju, Busan, Sokcho, Yeosu, Gangneung, Incheon, Geoje, Yangyang, Mokpo, and Tongyeong are all beach areas. Booking.com explained, “There is a study in which 89% of Korean travelers said that looking at the water in any form immediately makes them feel better. Naturally, they have a high preference for sea destinations that want healing.”
Hotels ranked first as the most booked accommodations by domestic travelers, and was selected as the most popular type of accommodation. Resorts, holiday homes, guesthouses, and aparthotels made the top five.
On the other hand, in the case of overseas countries that visited Korea after quarantine exemption, Singapore, a country that signed a travel bubble (exemption from quarantine among countries with excellent quarantine), ranked first, and the United States, which recently lowered its travel alert for Korea from level 4, the highest level, to level 1, the lowest. It climbed to 2nd place. Thailand, France and Germany followed in the top five.
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