Travelers head toward the departure area at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on April 18.YONHAP
Korea is No. 1 tourist destination for Japanese travelers going overseas from January to July of this year, according to a government report on Monday.
A total of 2.28 million people, or 28 percent of Japanese travelers chose Korea as their overseas destination from January to July of this year. The figure is an 18.8 percent increase from the same period last year, according to a report by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
One of the main contributors to the increase was airlines’ reshuffle of their flight routes. Powered by the surge in fuel prices beginning in March due to the Iran war, airlines opted to focus their flight routes to quicker and closer destinations such as Japan. Flight seat capacity to and from Japan increased 2.4 percent in July, compared to the end of last year.
Notably, the Culture Ministry collaborated with smaller domestic airports such as Gimhae International Airport in Busan; Jeju International Airport on Jeju Island; and Cheongju International Airport in North Chungcheong to boost the number of its inbound guests.
As a result, the number of Japanese inbound travelers arriving in those airports rose 52 percent, 60 percent, and 93 percent respectively this year as of July, compared to the same period last year.
The ministry also plans to set up promotional booths encouraging Korean tourism in major Japanese airports such as Fukuoka Airport in time for Japan’s annual Silver Week holiday season from Sept. 19 to 23.
A bank employee sorts Japanese yen bills at Hana Bank’s anti-counterfeiting center in Jung District, central Seoul, on July 29.YONHAP
There may also have been a fiscal drive for the popular travel demand, in addition to the Korean government’s diverse tourism initiatives.
The weakening yen over the past year has increased the financial burden of Japanese travelers hoping to travel overseas. Korea, however, remained a financially safe option due to its currency’s value staying in a similar range as the yen.
Air passengers crowd the duty-free stores area inside Incheon International Airport on Aug. 14.NEWS1
The Culture Ministry and the Korea Tourism Organization distributed 10,000 discount coupons to Japanese travelers for use at department stores, duty-free shops and convenience stores in Korea.
“The increasing number of Japanese tourists visiting Korea is a fresh energizer for the Korean tourism industry,” Kang Jung-won, the head of the Tourism Policy Bureau at the Culture Ministry said. “We will continue to strengthen the partnership between the two countries and sustain the growing momentum of the industry.”
