Where to Travel Domestically During Lunar New Year Holidays? ... Jeju Island vs Gangwon Province

Considering the short Lunar New Year holiday, 67.8% of travel periods are 1 night 2 days

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Those planning domestic travel during this year's Seollal holiday prefer Gangwon-do and Jeju-do the most. According to Interpark Tour's analysis of domestic travel trends during the Seollal holiday on the 19th, the highest number of travelers depart for Gangwon-do on the first day of the holiday, with the demand for 1-night 2-day trips being the highest. By region, Gangwon-do (27.8%) was the most popular, followed by Jeju (17.9%), Seoul (13.3%), Gyeonggi (6.5%), and Busan (5.6%).

The travel period was overwhelmingly 1 night and 2 days (67.8%). Next were 2 nights and 3 days (26.8%), and 3 nights and 4 days (4.8%). The date with the most accommodation check-ins was January 24th (33.2%), the start of the Seollal holiday. Shin Dong-yeop, team leader of Interpark's accommodation support team, explained, "This Seollal holiday period is relatively short, and since it is a holiday for gathering with family and relatives, it seems that many people want to enjoy short-term, 부담 없는 domestic travel."

Yanolja's analysis based on reservation data during this Seollal holiday period shows similar results. During the entire holiday period, accommodation reservations were highest in the early days, on the 24th (33.4%) and 25th (28.1%). Unlike last year's holiday when the metropolitan area showed strength in domestic accommodation reservation rates, Gangwon-do (16.6%) ranked first this year. This is believed to be influenced by family-friendly activities such as ski resorts and local festivals, as well as convenient transportation infrastructure like KTX and highways. Gyeonggi-do (13.6%) and Seoul (11.0%) followed.

According to Yeo-gi-ttae's accommodation reservation data, the region with the most accommodation bookings during the Seollal holiday was Jeju-do. Among all reservations, Seogwipo accounted for 13.0% and Jeju for 7.8%, indicating that more than 2 out of 10 domestic travelers plan to visit Jeju-do. Jeju-do also ranked first in the travel destination search rankings on the Yeo-gi-ttae app. Following Jeju-do, Yeosu (6.1%), Sokcho (5.3%), and Gangneung (5.2%) also showed high reservation shares.

In this survey as well, the day with the highest travel demand was the 24th (33.4%), the start of the holiday. The 24th is a Friday, which usually has a high reservation rate and is less burdensome for domestic travel. The accommodation rate on Seollal day, the 25th, was 24.7%, and the 26th was 16.8%, ranking second and third respectively. The travel period was mostly 1 night and 2 days (71.1%), but the proportion of travelers staying 2 nights or more increased by 10.7 percentage points compared to the previous year. As of this year, '2 nights and 3 days' travelers accounted for 24.5%. Lee Young-jin, head of Yeo-gi-ttae's hotel and resort business, said, "This year's Seollal holiday domestic travel trend shows longer trips and travel to distant destinations compared to last year," adding, "The D-turn group who visit travel destinations on their way home and the reverse D-turn group who start their trip first are continuously increasing."