"Overseas Travel Surges 10,000 Times, Japanese and Southeast Asian Theme Parks Crowded"

Klook Analyzes Lunar New Year Holiday Booking Trends
Preferences for Universal Studios, Disneyland, etc.
Major Domestic Travel Agencies Also See Surge in Holiday Bookings Compared to Last Year

As pent-up travel demand from COVID-19 exploded, the number of travelers going abroad using online travel agencies (OTAs) during this year's Seollal holiday period increased by more than 10,000 times compared to the same period last year. It was found that overseas travelers visited relatively nearby countries such as Japan and Southeast Asia, flocking to popular theme parks.

On the 24th, global travel and leisure platform 'Klook' analyzed this year's Seollal holiday data and found that overseas travel bookings increased by more than 10,000 times compared to last year's Seollal holiday. The most popular independent travel destinations during the holiday were Japan and Southeast Asia, accounting for 78% of total bookings. The company explained that due to the holiday being only four days long, there was a trend of seeking nearby travel destinations.

Universal Studios Singapore
Photo by Klook

At Klook, which offers 490,000 activity products worldwide, independent overseas travelers frequently chose theme parks around the globe. Among the top 15 booked products during the Seollal holiday, theme park tickets such as Tokyo Disneyland, Los Angeles (LA) Disneyland, Paris Disneyland admission tickets, two types of Osaka Universal Studios Express Passes, and Universal Studios tickets for Singapore and LA accounted for nearly half, with 7 products.

Lee Junho, head of Klook Korea, evaluated, "Despite the short holiday, the explosive increase in overseas travel product bookings reflects the strong interest of travelers who had been waiting to travel abroad."

Sales of overseas travel products during the Seollal holiday also surged compared to the previous year at major domestic travel agencies. Interpark's overseas package tours and airline ticket usage increased by 3,187% and 3,135%, respectively, compared to last year's holiday. The most common travel duration for overseas packages was 3 nights and 4 days, accounting for 43.4% of bookings.

By flight route, Japan accounted for 48.7%, followed by Southeast Asia (36.7%) and Oceania (5.5%). Last year’s holiday saw long-haul routes such as the Americas (41%) and Europe (31%) being popular, but this year, travelers preferred closer regions. An Interpark official said, "This year, the preference for nearby travel destinations increased due to the short holiday period and the rise in airfare prices following the COVID-19 pandemic."

Additionally, Hana Tour's Seollal holiday package tour bookings increased by 7,015% compared to the previous year and recovered to 52% of the level seen during the 2020 Seollal holiday just before the COVID-19 outbreak. By region, Southeast Asia accounted for 54%, Japan 30%, and Europe 7%. Within Southeast Asia, Vietnam accounted for 36% of bookings, followed by Thailand 17%, the Philippines 12%, and Taiwan 7%.

By departure date, the highest booking rate was on the first day of the holiday, the 21st, at 32%, followed by the day before the holiday, the 20th, at 26%. Demand for overseas travel departing early in the holiday, on the 20th and 21st, was more than twice that of departures from the 22nd to the 24th. A Hana Tour official predicted, "This year, overseas travel utilizing the short holiday and bridging holidays will become even more active."