"Round-Trip Airfare Cheaper Than Jeju"... This Country Attracts Korean Tourists

Passengers looking at the international arrival times displayed on the electronic board in the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] As the peak summer vacation season approaches, Koreans appear to have emerged as the largest customers of the local tourism industry in Vietnam.

According to the Vietnam General Statistics Office (GSO) on the 6th, from January to July this year, the number of Korean tourists entering the country reached approximately 196,000, accounting for 20% of all foreign tourists.

Previously, Vietnam had completely blocked foreign entries starting from March two years ago when the spread of COVID-19 began. However, from mid-March this year, the country implemented quarantine-free entry under the "With COVID" policy.

Statistics show that about 90,000 Korean tourists entered Vietnam in July alone. This figure represents a 1.7-fold and 3-fold increase compared to June and May, respectively. The countries sending the next highest number of tourists after Korea were the United States (102,000) and Cambodia (60,000).

The number of Chinese tourists, who were previously the largest customers, was limited to 53,000. This is analyzed to be due to China's strong COVID-19 prevention policy known as "Zero COVID." Russia also saw a significant decline in tourism demand due to the Ukraine invasion situation.

In this regard, a representative of a local cruise tour specialist company stated, "In the tourist hotspot Nha Trang, over 60% of customers are Koreans," adding, "They mainly enjoy luxury travel such as golf or cruise tours."

On the 29th of last month, the domestic terminal of Gimpo Airport in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, was bustling with passengers. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

Given this situation, Vietnamese airlines have begun swift moves to capture the influx of Korean travelers. VietJet Air, Vietnam's leading low-cost carrier (LCC), decided last month to increase the number of routes between Busan and various Vietnamese cities from two to four. Currently, VietJet Air operates four direct Busan routes as well as six routes connecting Seoul with major travel destinations in Vietnam.

As a result, some round-trip tickets to Vietnam have become cheaper than tickets to Jeju Island. According to Naver Airfare on the 7th, round-trip tickets for "Incheon-Hanoi" start at about 290,000 KRW as of August. Tickets for "Incheon-Da Nang" start at about 280,000 KRW.

For round-trip tickets to Jeju Island, the "Gimpo-Jeju" route can be purchased for around 70,000 KRW depending on the schedule. However, flights at convenient times for travel are traded at 200,000 to 300,000 KRW even for economy class.

This is analyzed to be due to the fact that while demand for Jeju Island travel remains high during the summer vacation season, LCCs have prioritized increasing routes to Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.