"Not Visiting Jeju or Gyeongju for Spring Flowers"... 'This Place' Korean People Are Visiting

Skyscanner Reveals Spring Travel Destination Rankings
"Anywhere" Takes Top Spot, Followed by Fukuoka, Osaka, and Tokyo

This spring, Japanese cities ranked 2nd to 5th in the list of preferred travel destinations for Korean travelers.

The travel application (app) Skyscanner released the results of its analysis of popular travel destinations for this spring based on search data on the 16th. As a result, three major Japanese cities dominated the top ranks.

In this survey, the first place was not a specific region but "Anywhere" (20.7%). Following that were Fukuoka (17%), Osaka (13.8%), and Tokyo (13.5%). The only domestic travel destination to make it into the top 10 was Jeju Island, ranked 5th (11.9%).

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Other destinations in the top 10 included Taipei, Taiwan (6th, 5.9%), Shanghai, China (7th, 4.9%), Hong Kong (8th, 4.5%), Da Nang, Vietnam (9th, 4.1%), and Bangkok, Thailand (10th, 3.7%).

Skyscanner explained, "Among Japanese travel destinations, Fukuoka, which is relatively close to Korea and has inexpensive airfares, saw a 46.4% increase in search volume compared to the same period last year, surpassing Tokyo and Osaka." Shanghai, China, which has emerged as a new nearby travel destination following the introduction of a visa-free policy last year, saw its search volume increase by 424% compared to the same period last year, newly entering the top 10 popular spring travel destinations.

According to the cherry blossom forecast released by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), Tokyo is expected to have the earliest blooming this year. The cherry blossoms in Tokyo are forecasted to bloom on the 22nd of this month. Following that, Fukuoka is expected to bloom on the 23rd, Osaka on the 26th of this month, and Sapporo on the 25th of next month.

Domestic cherry blossom blooming is forecasted to be somewhat later than last year. According to the Korea Forest Service, this year’s flowering of trees is expected to start in mid-March in Jeju Island, then spread through the southern regions, and expand nationwide by early April. The full bloom dates by species are predicted as March 26 for Cornus officinalis, April 4 for azaleas, and April 6 for cherry trees.