Revenge Travel Demand Surges... Overseas Flight Ticket Sales Soar

Ahead of the Chuseok holiday, the spread of COVID-19 is accelerating mainly in Seoul and the metropolitan area. On the 16th, the domestic terminal of Gimpo Airport in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, was crowded with passengers. Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] As the global atmosphere of 'with COVID-19' spreads in earnest, demand for overseas travel is increasing.

According to the Mariana Tourism Authority on the 17th, the number of reservations for Saipan package tours exceeded 8,000 as of the 13th of this month. This is double the 4,000 achieved in mid-last month in just over a month. This surge is due to travelers flocking following the establishment of travel bubbles between major countries worldwide.

Singapore also recently announced 'travel regulation easing' measures, allowing its citizens and travelers from 10 countries worldwide, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, who have completed vaccination, to travel freely between each other. South Korea will also be able to participate in the Singapore travel bubble allowing individual travel starting from the 15th of next month.

The aviation industry is preparing to resume overseas routes with the additional expansion of travel bubbles. Asiana Airlines is preparing to operate the Guam route from next month, and Jeju Air has applied for reauthorization of 18 routes including Qingdao, China, and Bangkok, Thailand. T'way Air and Jin Air are reportedly requesting to resume the Busan?Hong Kong and Incheon?Macau routes, respectively.

The tourism industry has also started capturing demand from overseas travelers. Interpark Tour analyzed last month's airline ticket sales and found that ticket sales demand surged compared to the previous month, with Spain's Madrid up 625%, the Netherlands' Amsterdam up 250%, and France's Paris up 76.3%.

Hana Tour also switched all employees to a normal work system from early this month and launched Singapore package products. They introduced the 'Singapore 5 Days - Marina Bay Sands Hotel' package, which allows visits to major Singapore tourist spots such as River Safari, Botanic Gardens, and Gardens by the Bay, as well as the 'Singapore 5 Days - Snap Shooting' package, a photo shoot package that helps families preserve memories beyond the sightseeing schedule.

However, some expect that full-scale overseas travel will only be possible in the second half of next year. Concerns about the spread of COVID-19 still remain, and depending on the country, travelers are required to present vaccination certificates and PCR test applications.

An aviation industry official said, "As the with COVID-19 atmosphere spreads, we are preparing to resume international routes in line with the increase in overseas passenger demand."