No snacks or souvenirs: Record weak won changes how, not whether, Koreans travel abroad

The won hovering near historic lows may not have dampened Koreans’ appetite for traveling abroad, but it is rapidly changing their overseas spending habits. From newlyweds swapping luxury hotels for Airbnbs to vacationers cutting back on paid tours and even small purchases such as snacks, travelers are increasingly looking for ways to stretch their budgets.

Despite the won remaining above the psychologically significant 1,500-per-dollar level for more than a month, the total number of outbound travelers from January through May reached 12.6 million, rising 5 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the state-run Tourism Knowledge & Information System.

But travelers have tightened their purse strings. The average spending per outbound traveler fell on year for a third consecutive month in April, declining 11 percent from a year earlier to $982. That figure was down 7 percent and 3 percent on year in February and March, respectively, suggesting that travelers are turning more cost-conscious as the weak won erodes their purchasing power overseas.

“Travel packages that require minimal spending at the destination — except for shopping and optional excursions — are becoming popular as consumers grow more price-conscious due to the weak won,” said Cho Il-sang, a spokesperson for Hanatour Service, a Seoul-based travel agency.

“Some travelers are also finding tour packages relatively attractive because prices are set in advance and are not always immediately adjusted to reflect currency fluctuations of this magnitude.”

Still traveling, splurging less

Park, a newlywed living in Gyeonggi, goes on at least three overseas trips per year. While she usually enjoys spending lavishly on golfing and shopping on her trips, she had to refrain from such spending during her vacation to New Zealand in May.

“My husband and I usually stay in hotels when we travel abroad, but this time, we went to an Airbnb to save money,” she said. “I also kept my spending on souvenirs to a minimum. I wanted to buy a pair of Ugg boots and a wool scarf since New Zealand is known for its wool, but I gave up on those — as well as most other souvenirs — and came home with little more than some locally famous honey and a pair of pajamas.”

Park said that she saved roughly one million won ($645) from such frugal spending.

Kim Kyoung-soon, who lives in Busan, plans to take a similar approach to her three-week trip to the United States in September.

“Of the roughly 20 optional excursions offered — including a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon and a boat tour at Niagara Falls — I signed up for only one: a ticket to MoMA [Museum of Modern Art],” she said, noting that she had already spent 550,000 won on fuel surcharges.

“I don’t plan to buy any gifts or souvenirs, let alone shop at duty-free stores. I’ll even keep spending on snacks to a minimum.”

This shift in travelers’ mindset is evident in their choice of tour packages. While vacationers once favored lower-cost packages that included stops at shopping centers and optional excursions — programs that were affordable upfront but often required additional spending at the destination — they are now opting for more expensive all-inclusive packages that minimize out-of-pocket expenses.

Reservations for Yellow Balloon tour packages that exclude shopping stops, optional excursions and tips jumped 116.8 percent on year for overseas package-tour bookings in July and August combined, according to the company’s data.

“Travelers have recently become less focused on simply comparing [tour packages’] prices,” said a spokesperson for Yellow Balloon. “As they continue to face the burden of a weak won and fuel surcharges, they are increasingly prioritizing [a package’s] comprehensive value, weighing what is included and the convenience of getting around.”

Hanatour reported a similar trend, with packages requiring minimal local spending — by excluding shopping stops and optional excursions — accounting for 47 percent of its gross merchandise value, up from 42 percent in 2024 and just 8 percent in 2019.

Japan, the spending exception

Even as Korean travelers rein in spending elsewhere, they are increasing their expenditure in Japan, where the weak yen has made travel significantly more affordable.

The Japanese currency was at a 40-year low against the dollar on Tuesday, and Korea’s travel deficit with Japan widened to a record $5.71 billion last year, the largest since data compilation began in 1998.

While the latest spending data for Korean travelers to Japan has yet to be released, the trend is expected to continue through this year as the number of Korean visitors to Japan continues to jump. According to Japan Tourism Statistics, 10.86 million Korean tourists went to Japan in the first quarter of this year, up 1.4 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The flow of Korean travelers to Japan shows no signs of slowing despite the stronger depreciation of the won over the yen, with the won weakening about 4.5 percent per 100 yen from early January through Thursday, according to data from the Bank of Korea.

In addition to the weak yen, other factors are also at play, including rapidly rising prices and fierce fare competition for Japan routes among Korea’s budget airlines. These determinants are encouraging Koreans to travel to Japan and spend more there, said Go Gye-seong, a professor in the Department of Travel, Aviation and Tourism at Kyungnam University.

“Inflation is noticeable in Japan, but prices still feel similar to those in Korea, if not cheaper,” a Naver blogger wrote after a trip to the neighboring country in April. “That is particularly the case for everyday spending on simple meals, convenience stores and restaurants. Although prices in Japan seem to have risen in absolute terms, the gap [between currencies] has narrowed as prices in Korea have also increased [more steeply].”

Hotel accommodation prices in Korea jumped 9.3 percent on year in May, while the cost of dining out also rose, with the price of samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly) increasing 3.1 percent, according to government data. Meanwhile, the cost of domestic package tours climbed 2.8 percent, extending its upward trend after surging 9.5 percent in February.

But some say that the simultaneous rise in outbound travel and decline in overseas spending is a natural development as people become more experienced travelers.

“The exchange rate has an impact on people’s travel plans, but as travelers gain more experience, the activities and programs that they pursue become more diverse,” Lee Hoon, a professor at Hanyang University’s tourism department, said. “At the same time, they tend to focus their spending on the experiences that they value most while cutting back elsewhere — a trend reinforced by the abundance of travel tips and money-saving information available online.”

BY JIN MIN-JI [[email protected]]