"Top 1 to 3 Sweep"... The Country Making Money Thanks to Korea's Bridge Holidays

Trip.com Analysis, "Preference for Areas with Short Travel Distances"

[Photo by Pixabay]

As the government designated National Armed Forces Day (October 1) as a temporary holiday, creating a 'bridge holiday,' domestic travelers were found to most frequently travel to Osaka, Japan.

On the 30th, travel platform Trip.com analyzed the travel booking trends of Korean users from October 1 to 9 next month and found that overseas travel bookings increased by 63% compared to the same period last year. The most booked overseas destination by Korean travelers was Osaka, Japan, followed by Tokyo, Japan; Fukuoka, Japan; Bangkok, Thailand; Nha Trang, Vietnam; Taipei, Taiwan; and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

The top booked tourist attractions were Universal Studios Japan, Macau Tower, Shibuya Sky, Tokyo Disneyland, Universal Studios Singapore, Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo (Harry Potter Studio), Tokyo DisneySea, Shanghai Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Tokyo Skytree, with six out of the top ten being tourist spots in Japan.

Trip.com explained, "With more holidays during the same period compared to last year, interest in overseas travel has increased, but since using long vacations requires more individual annual leave days, bookings for destinations with shorter travel distances have increased." They also added, "Although it was predicted that demand for long-term trips to places like Europe would increase by taking extended annual leave during the bridge holidays following Chuseok, Japan remains the most preferred destination."

Meanwhile, domestic travel during this period increased by only about 14% compared to the same period last year. The popular travel destinations were Seoul, Busan, and Jeju in that order.