Most Searched Overseas Travel Destinations by Koreans... 3rd Thailand, 2nd Vietnam, 1st Is?

HotelsCombined and Kayak Trend Keyword Survey Results
Japan Ranks First... More Searches for Japan Than Before COVID-19
"Preference for Short-Term, Nearby Travel... Duration Within 3 Days"

This year, the most searched travel destination by Korean travelers was found to be 'Japan.'

Sensoji, a tourist attraction in Tokyo, Japan.
Photo by Yonhap News

On the 7th, hotel search platform HotelsCombined and global travel search engine KAYAK announced the overseas travel trend keywords for 2023, summarized as 'S.H.O.R.T.' The survey analyzed data on overseas hotel and flight searches from January 1 to December 31 of this year based on stay dates.

'S.H.O.R.T' is an acronym representing the trend of enjoying travel mainly to nearby destinations within a short period: ▲Short-distance destinations (Southeast Asia & Japan) ▲Hot summer season ▲One to three days trips ▲Restart of overseas travel ▲Three-star hotels for cost-effectiveness.

According to search data from HotelsCombined and KAYAK, the volume of overseas flight and hotel searches increased significantly compared to the previous year, indicating a strong rebound in overseas travel demand suppressed by COVID-19.

In fact, overseas flight searches increased by about 106%, more than double compared to the previous year, and overseas hotel searches rose by approximately 58%. Especially, flight searches in the second half of the year increased by about 60% compared to the first half, showing that the overseas travel demand that started early this year continued to grow through the latter half.

Monthly data showed that the summer peak season from July to August had the highest number of travelers going abroad. Overseas hotel searches ranked highest in ▲August ▲July ▲June, while overseas flight searches ranked ▲September ▲August ▲July.

Preference for Nearby Destinations to Korea... Japan Tops Search Volume

Additionally, there is notable preference for overseas travel destinations located relatively close to Korea, allowing for light and easy trips.

The country with the highest annual search volume was Japan, and among global cities, the most searched cities were ▲Osaka, Japan ▲Tokyo, Japan ▲Fukuoka, Japan in that order.

Following Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and the United States showed high search volumes. Among the top five countries, all except the United States consistently ranked high every month from January to December.

Moreover, this year showed a preference for overseas travel that can be enjoyed without burden at a reasonable cost within a relatively short period.

Looking at travel duration, searches for short trips increased this year. While last year the most searched travel duration was between 4 and 7 days for both flights and hotels, this year the largest share of searches was for short trips set between 1 and 3 days.

The increase in solo travelers was also prominent. Among overseas flight searches this year, the highest number were set for '1 person,' followed by 2, 3, 4, and 5 or more persons in that order.

Furthermore, the proportion of searches set for '1 person' in overseas hotel data increased by about 25% compared to the previous year.

The trend in overseas hotel usage highlighted 'Savecation' (Save + Vacation), emphasizing budget-friendly vacations.

Among all overseas hotel searches, three-star hotels were the most searched, followed by four-star and five-star hotels, indicating that reasonably priced hotels are favored over luxury accommodations.

Koreans Visiting Japan More Than Before COVID-19

A crowd wearing masks is bustling in a shopping district in Shinagawa-gu, Tokyo, Japan.
Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

This year, the number of Korean tourists visiting Japan surpassed the levels before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization's data on 'Inbound Visitors to Japan,' from January to October this year, 5.52 million Koreans visited Japan, exceeding the 5.13 million Korean visitors during the same period in 2019 by about 400,000 (7.68%). With the explosive demand for travel to Japan, adding the figures for November and the 'year-end holiday travelers' in December, it is expected that the total number of Koreans visiting Japan this year could exceed 7 million.

Notably, despite issues arising this year such as the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant and the resolution of compensation for victims of forced labor during Japanese colonial rule, the travel boom to Japan continues. Travel sentiment appears to be influenced more by compensatory consumption desires and costs (exchange rates) than by political developments.