With a 6-day holiday... Instead of visiting ancestral graves, people go to see the Eiffel Tower and Colosseum

Long-Distance Overseas Travel Bookings Surge 568%
Popular Long-Distance Travel Packages to the US and Europe
Booking Volume Higher Than August, the Peak Summer Season

Thanks to October 2nd being designated as a temporary holiday, this year’s Chuseok holiday is expected to be longer than usual. As a result, demand for overseas travel to destinations such as the United States and Europe has surged.

According to the "2023 Chuseok Golden Holiday Overseas Travel Trends" released on the 25th by the activity booking platform 'Klook,' the number of overseas travel product bookings by Koreans during this year’s Chuseok holiday period increased by 568% compared to last year’s Chuseok holiday (September 9?12).

Bookings for travel products to the United States and Europe rose by 283% compared to last year. The increase in long-distance travelers appears to be due to the effect of the temporary holiday.

On the morning of the 25th, three days before the Chuseok holiday, the duty-free area at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport is bustling with travelers. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, the government designated October 2nd as a temporary holiday to create a bridge holiday between this year’s Chuseok holiday and National Foundation Day on October 3rd. Thanks to this, the Chuseok holiday was extended to a total of six days, from September 28th to October 3rd.

Demand for long-distance travel has even surpassed that of the peak summer season last month. Bookings for travel products to the Americas and Europe in September increased by 24% compared to the previous month.

While popular overseas travel destinations in the past were mainly short-distance trips to Japan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia, this holiday period saw the United States and France rank among the top 10 most popular booking countries.

The most booked products by travelers visiting the Americas and Europe included transportation passes such as the Eurail Global Pass and Swiss Travel Pass, rental cars, as well as admission tickets to Paris and LA Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood, the Paris Museum Pass, and entrance tickets to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill in Rome.

Booking rates for tickets to famous overseas performances such as the Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil show, New York Broadway’s Aladdin, and London Disney’s The Lion King musical also increased by up to 1500% compared to last month.

Meanwhile, this holiday period is expected to be longer not only in Korea but also in other Asian countries such as China and Taiwan. China has an eight-day golden holiday due to the overlap of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, while Taiwan will observe a three-day Chuseok holiday from September 29th to October 1st.

Accordingly, the number of Asian travelers visiting Korea is also showing signs of increase. According to Klook, inbound (foreign visitors to Korea) product bookings from China and Taiwan increased by 39% and 24%, respectively.