In the Sweltering Heatwave, 'Heat Hunting'... This Summer's Most Popular Vacation Spots Revealed

On the afternoon of the 1st, many vacationers gathered at Vivaldi Park Ocean World in Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon, enjoying the water play facilities. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] It seems that the summer vacation spot scenes changed by COVID-19 over the past two years have returned. As the peak vacation season began, the once quiet water parks were bustling with vacationers enjoying water activities, and many crowds gathered at the beaches. Among these, the most visited vacation spot by vacationers was Boryeong Daecheon Beach.

According to T Map Mobility (T Map) on the 14th, an analysis of the number of times nationwide beaches, water parks, and other five types of summer vacation spots were set as destinations on T Map from July 21 to August 10 showed that the most popular place was Daecheon Beach in Boryeong, Chungnam (47,272 cases).

The second place was Vivaldi Park Ocean World in Hongcheon, Gangwon (43,122 cases). Following were Gyeongpo Beach in Gangneung, Gangwon (39,570 cases), Haeundae Beach in Busan (38,763 cases), and Eulwangri Beach in Incheon (38,631 cases).

By type, the theme park that gained the most popularity was Lotte World in Jamsil (32,903 cases). For resorts and hotels, Hanwha Resort Seorak Sorano (21,186 cases) and Grand Walkerhill Seoul (20,054 cases) were the most chosen, respectively.

According to T Map, the number of people visiting vacation spots during the analysis period increased compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak. This is interpreted as an effect of the full-scale return to daily life since April, following the easing of social distancing after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In particular, while many people chose hotels or resorts as vacation spots during the two years since the COVID-19 outbreak began, this year, the number of vacationers visiting water parks or beaches increased again.

Previously, in 2020, the total number of cases setting water parks as destinations ranked 1st to 5th was only 28,958. Compared to hotels (56,218 cases) or resorts (76,352 cases) in the same year, it was about half.

On the other hand, this year, the total number of cases for the top 5 water parks increased significantly to 100,648, surpassing hotels (85,885 cases) and resorts (96,041 cases). This trend is similar to the records before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

On the afternoon of the 7th, vacationers are cooling off by playing in the water at Haeundae Beach in Busan. [Image source=Yonhap News]

In fact, many crowds gathered at major beaches and water parks nationwide during this vacation season. On the 14th, a heatwave warning was issued for the southern regions, and vacationers continued to visit major beaches to cool off from the heat. On this day, Jeju’s major beaches such as Hyeopjae Beach and Hamdeok Beach were crowded with residents and tourists enjoying water activities. According to the Jeju Tourism Association, 49,429 vacationers visited Jeju on the previous day (13th), exceeding the association’s initial estimate of 42,700.

Vacationers also flocked to Busan and Gyeongnam. On the 7th, vacationers gathered at beaches including Haeundae and Gwangalli in Busan, Hakdong Mongdol in Geoje, and Sangju Eunmore Beach in Namhae, dipping their feet in the cool sea water. Lotte Water Park in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, was also crowded with people cooling off from the heat. The number of visitors to Lotte Water Park last month increased by about 20% compared to 2019.