Unable to Cope with Ultra-Austerity Travel Trends and Travel Market Contraction
Jeju 1.6 Times More Expensive than Average Domestic Travel Destinations
As more people say, "If I have money to go to Jeju Island, I would rather travel abroad," an analysis has emerged that the satisfaction with Jeju travel has sharply declined because the Jeju travel industry failed to respond to consumers' ultra-tight travel trends and the contraction of the travel market.
According to the results of the "Weekly Travel Behavior and Plan Survey" (500 people weekly, 26,000 annually) conducted by travel research specialist Consumer Insight since 2015, the average expenditure per traveler for a 3-night, 4-day trip from January to October this year was 528,000 KRW for Jeju and 1,157,000 KRW for overseas travel. Overseas travel spending was 2.2 times higher than Jeju travel.
The average cost for all domestic travel destinations was 339,000 KRW. Compared to the domestic travel average, Jeju costs 1.6 times more, and overseas travel costs 3.4 times more.
Jeju travel began to be shunned by consumers starting last year. Although the travel market contracted due to the spread of an "ultra-tight travel" atmosphere amid rising prices, the industry failed to respond appropriately.
Consumer Insight stated, "Despite strong inflationary pressures, traveler expenditures both domestically and abroad decreased by 9-10%, returning to lower costs than in 2021. This reflects that consumers closed their wallets and returned to ultra-tight travel, which the travel industry felt and actively responded to market changes." However, they pointed out, "Jeju alone failed to return below the 2021 cost level."
They continued, "Although Jeju's increase was slightly less than competing destinations in 2021, in 2022, when competitors anticipated a recession and tightened their belts, Jeju surged with an increase of more than four times (14%). As a result, in 2023, Jeju remained at a high cost compared to 2021, becoming the focus of consumer criticism and intense scrutiny from the travel industry. Jeju quickly earned the dishonor of having a serious 'price?value' problem and revived the old stigma of being a destination where 'with that money, you might as well go abroad,'" they analyzed.
Consumer Insight emphasized, "The underlying meaning of the phrase 'If I have money to go to Jeju Island, I would rather travel abroad' is 'Jeju is not even worth going to at half the price of overseas travel.' Many people sympathize with this, which is serious."
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