Holiday from April 27 to May 6, 10 days
Despite low demand for overseas travel, 'Seoul' ranks first in search volume
As Japan approaches the Golden Week holiday (April 27 to May 6), South Korea has been selected as the most preferred overseas travel destination among Japanese travelers during this period.
Opening ceremony of the K-Tourism Roadshow 'Korea Tabi Festival' event held in Tokyo, Japan last March. [Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]
According to recent overseas travel trends and search rankings released by major Japanese travel agencies JTB, HIS, and global online travel agency Expedia Japan, South Korea ranked as the most popular destination despite weak overseas travel demand due to the depreciation of the yen.
As of last year, the number of valid Japanese passports accounted for only 17% of the total population. The number of outbound travelers also recorded about 47% compared to 2019, indicating a slow recovery in the Japanese outbound travel market.
JTB's "2024 Golden Week Travel Trends" report forecasts that "the number of Japanese overseas travelers is expected to grow by 167.7% year-on-year to approximately 520,000," projecting a recovery of up to 90% compared to pre-COVID levels. The most popular overseas travel destinations were South Korea (20.5%), Southeast Asia (16.7%), and Taiwan (13.5%), confirming the popularity of nearby tourist spots.
Additionally, according to HIS's "2024 Golden Week Travel Reservation Trends" announced on the 4th, the number of overseas travel reservations grew by 123.2% year-on-year. Seoul ranked first, followed by Taiwan and Hawaii. Busan ranked 5th, and Jeju ranked 10th, with three Korean cities included in the top 10.
Expedia Japan also announced on the 22nd of last month through its "Golden Week Overseas Travel Search Rankings" that Seoul ranked first in both overall destination search volume and solo travel destination search volume. Last year, Seoul ranked 4th in search volume, behind Okinawa, Taipei, and Bangkok.
Jang Mi-ran, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is lighting the ceremonial lamp at the Korea-Japan Tourism Exchange Night held at the Westin Hotel in Tokyo, Japan, on the 22nd. [Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]
Based on these statistics, the Korea Tourism Organization is promoting an SNS event using popular influencers to introduce the culinary delights and the latest attractions of Seoul and Busan to attract Japanese tourists during Golden Week. They also explained that they are conducting campaigns to encourage visits to Korea in collaboration with major Japanese travel agencies such as HIS.
In particular, the "Korea Revisit Event (Wow Pass Card joint campaign)" held in April and May has received over 3,500 applications as of the 5th.
Efforts to capture demand for the summer vacation period following Golden Week are also ongoing. Planned activities include a product planner fam tour by the Japan Travel Industry Association Korea Working Group (April 10 to October 13), a training trip for about 460 new JTB employees to Korea (April 14 to 17), and a fam tour for education travel coordinators in the Kyushu region (April 24 to 27). Next month, a mega fam tour centered on Jeonju and Andong will be held, with about 100 Japanese journalists and travel industry professionals participating to contribute to revitalizing regional tourism.
Park Seong-ung, head of the Japan team at the Korea Tourism Organization, said, "Last year, South Korea achieved the highest market share (24%) among Japanese overseas travel destinations and the highest recovery rate compared to competing countries (70.8% for Korea vs. 42% for Taiwan and 44.6% for Thailand compared to 2019), showing meaningful results. The 20s Japanese female demographic, which has emerged as the main consumer group of K-culture, is currently leading the recovery. Therefore, ahead of Golden Week, we plan to strengthen promotional efforts targeting this group by actively utilizing K-content such as cuisine, beauty, and fashion to boost inbound tourism."
The Korea Tourism Organization, together with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, held large-scale K-roadshows in Tokyo, Osaka, and other locations last month to proactively create a Korean travel boom and capture demand for Golden Week. At the K-tourism roadshow held in Tokyo, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Moon Mi-ran attended and engaged in high-level sales activities to promote inbound tourism.
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