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Surge in tourists expected during extended 'Super Golden Week' holiday period

Published: 30 Apr. 2026, 13:26 Updated: 30 Apr. 2026, 17:57

People are seen in Myeongdong, central Seoul, on April 29. [YONHAP]

Korea is the surprise winner of a rare three-way holiday pileup alongside China and Japan — and the country isn't complaining.

China's Labor Day, Japan's Golden Week and Korea's Children's Day holiday overlap this week in what is being called a Super Golden Week, sending a wave of domestic and foreign tourists flooding toward local resorts, hotels and city streets. With high fuel prices pushing travelers toward shorter, closer trips, the timing could not be better for Korea's tourism industry.

China's Labor Day holiday is expected to welcome a whopping 1.52 billion people from Friday to Tuesday — a record high — according to the country's transport ministry forecasts, averaging more than 300 million people per day.

The surge in domestic long-distance travel is up more than 30 percent from a year earlier, driven largely by travelers who have ditched overseas plans because of soaring jet fuel prices.

The Chinese government is treating the holiday as a launchpad for consumer spending, distributing approximately 61.3 billion won ($41 million) in consumption vouchers to stimulate demand.

Japan's Golden Week, which began Wednesday with a public holiday, runs through a substitute holiday on Tuesday. Workers who take Thursday and Friday off can string together up to eight consecutive days away.

The archipelago is already packed. Of the Japanese travelers heading overseas, about 80 percent are expected to head to nearby Asian destinations, including Korea and Taiwan, JTB, Japan's major travel agency, said in a survey.

Korea has emerged as the biggest beneficiary of this triple overlap. Domestic resort bookings are running at full capacity, filled in part by Korean travelers who have abandoned overseas plans due to high airfares.

Some 200,000 Chinese and Japanese tourists are expected to visit during the holiday period alone. Seoul ranked first on Airbnb's search data from Chinese users and topped the destination charts in booking trends tracked by H.I.S., another major Japanese travel agency — a sign that inbound tourism is hitting its peak.

To prevent the capital from absorbing the full weight of the influx, the government is expanding cruise routes linking Jeju and Busan and pushing regional destinations with locally tailored content.

BY KO SEUNG-PYO [[email protected]]