Hot Overseas Travel Destinations This Summer? ... Air Busan's Boarding Rate Survey Shows "Eased Quarantine, Southeast Asia on the Rise"

Promotional image for Air Busan's Southeast Asia routes.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Where were the main overseas travel destinations this summer for those flying with Air Busan?

Air Busan announced on the 19th that an analysis of the international flight load factors from May to August 16 showed that Southeast Asian destinations had the highest load factors.

According to Air Busan, among the 18 international routes currently in operation, the routes with the highest load factors were ▲Busan-Kota Kinabalu ▲Busan-Nha Trang ▲Busan-Da Nang, in that order. The load factor is the ratio of passengers who actually used the seats supplied.

The Busan-Kota Kinabalu route deployed a total of 4,228 seats and transported 3,775 passengers, recording a load factor of 89%.

The Busan-Nha Trang route supplied 4,276 seats and was used by 3,213 passengers, recording a load factor of 75%.

The Busan-Da Nang route had 8,050 seats with 5,963 passengers, recording a load factor of 74%.

In August, the Incheon-Bangkok and Incheon-Nha Trang routes recorded average load factors of 77% and 76%, respectively, confirming that travelers prefer Southeast Asia as their overseas travel destination.

In fact, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Aviation Information Portal System, the number of passengers by country in the first half of 2019, before the outbreak of COVID-19, was highest in the order of ▲Japan ▲China ▲Vietnam ▲Philippines ▲Thailand.

In the first half of this year, the order was ▲United States ▲Vietnam ▲Philippines ▲Singapore ▲Thailand, showing a high proportion of Southeast Asia.

This is interpreted as a result of Japan and China effectively restricting individual travel due to quarantine measures, leading many people to travel to Southeast Asia where entry procedures have been eased.

Air Busan cited the main reasons why many people choose Southeast Asia as their overseas travel destination as ▲short flight times ▲simple entry procedures ▲various attractions ▲affordable prices.

Most countries in Southeast Asia have simplified entry procedures and short flight times, making travel easier.

Vietnam and Malaysia do not require quarantine or COVID-19 testing regardless of vaccination status.

Additionally, there are many attractions and relatively low prices, allowing travelers to enjoy overseas trips at affordable costs.

An Air Busan official said, “If the popularity of Southeast Asian travel continues and Japan significantly relaxes its COVID-19 quarantine regulations, airports are expected to regain vitality due to the explosive travel demand, which will be a signal for the recovery of the aviation industry.”