"50% Increase in Overseas Flight and Hotel Searches During Samiljeol Holiday"

Kayak·HotelsCombined Data Analysis
Popular Travel Destination: Tokyo
Overseas Travel Trend is 'SOFT'

During the holiday period around this year's Samiljeol, the search volume for overseas airline tickets increased by about 51% compared to the same period last year. The proportion of searches for overseas hotels also increased by 48% during the same period.

The night view of Tokyo, Japan, the most searched overseas travel destination during the Samiljeol holiday period
[Photo by Kayak·HotelsCombined]

Global travel search platform 'KAYAK' and hotel search platform 'HotelsCombined' announced on the 3rd that their analysis of company search data during the Samiljeol holiday period showed that the growth rate of overseas searches compared to domestic airline tickets and hotel searches was as such.

Based on this, KAYAK and HotelsCombined defined this year's Samiljeol holiday overseas travel trend with the keyword 'SOFT.' SOFT is an acronym combining the first letters of the English words for ▲Short-distance Travel ▲Overseas Travel ▲Family ▲Three-Star Hotels.

During the period including this year's Samiljeol, the highest search volumes were for short-distance travel destinations such as Japan and Southeast Asia. According to KAYAK, major cities in Japan and Southeast Asia, including Tokyo, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Singapore, and Osaka, ranked high. The company also explained that with the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, interest in overseas travel and revenge travel sentiment have greatly increased.

Another notable feature is the increase in tourists traveling with partners, friends, or family. While the proportion of searches for single-person airline tickets decreased by about 21% this year, the proportions of searches set for 2, 3, and 4 people increased by approximately 9%, 5%, and 4%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

There was also a change in the preferred hotel ratings among travelers. Last year, higher-rated hotels were preferred in the order of 5-star, 4-star, and 3-star, but this year, the proportion of searches for 3-star hotels was the highest, followed by 5-star and 4-star hotels, according to KAYAK and HotelsCombined.