Tongyeong and Changnyeong Postpone Festival Dates
Hadong Cancels Cherry Blossom Festival Entirely
'Worst Forest Fire' Devastates Domestic Travel
Travel Sentiment Shrinks... Travel and Accommodation Industries on High Alert
Cherry blossoms in full bloom around Romance Bridge, Yeojeo Stream, Jinhae-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam. Interpark
The forest fire that broke out on the 21st in Sancheong, Gyeongnam, shows no signs of subsiding, putting local governments in the Gyeongnam region, which are preparing for spring festivals, on high alert. As local governments are struggling to come up with measures by canceling, scaling down, or postponing spring flower festivals, the domestic travel and accommodation industries, which had been promoting domestic travel during the spring flower season, are also expected to suffer damage.
On the 26th, Tongyeong City announced that the '20th Bongsutgol Flower Outing Festival,' scheduled to be held in the Bongsutgol area on the 29th and 30th, has been postponed to the 5th and 6th of next month. This is a measure to prevent forest fires and prepare for response amid the national crisis alert for forest fire disasters being raised to the 'severe' level.
Namhae County also temporarily postponed the 'Flower Blooming Namhae Festival' and the '7th Changseon Gosari Festival,' which were scheduled for the 28th and 29th. The Flower Blooming Namhae Festival had prepared spectacular performances combining drones, fireworks, and music, but it was postponed due to the current forest fire situation. Changnyeong County, where four members of the affiliated forest fire fighting team and public officials died due to the fire, also postponed the Bugok Hot Springs Festival, originally scheduled for the 28th to 30th, to the 25th to 27th of next month.
Citizens visiting the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival in Changwon-si, Gyeongnam, are enjoying the fully bloomed cherry blossoms. Photo by Changwon City Hall
Changwon City is also facing difficulties ahead of the 63rd Jinhae Gunhangje Festival, the largest spring flower festival in the country. This is considering the spread of damage caused by large forest fires in neighboring areas such as Sancheong, Hadong in Gyeongnam, as well as Ulsan and Gyeongbuk.
The city, having prepared the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival for several months, sees it as realistically difficult to cancel the festival entirely. Instead, it is reportedly reviewing internally to partially reduce and adjust programs, such as canceling the fireworks festival. Since the festival opening is just two days away, the city plans to finalize and announce its position on this matter by tomorrow at the latest.
Some local governments have canceled their festivals entirely. Hadong County decided to cancel the 27th Hwagae Market Cherry Blossom Festival, scheduled for the 28th to 30th, considering that the Sancheong forest fire has spread to Hadong and has not yet been contained.
The domestic travel and accommodation industries, which were expecting a peak season during the spring flower season, are also expected to suffer direct and indirect damage due to the large forest fires. Domestic specialized travel agencies had been recruiting customers for spring outing packages to Andong and Sancheong ahead of the spring flower blooming season. However, due to the forest fires, some areas have become completely impossible to proceed with the schedules, leading to cancellations of these packages.
Cases of cancellations due to anxiety are also increasing. Visitors who planned to visit Gyeongnam are canceling their accommodations one after another, and local travel agencies continue to receive inquiries about travel reservation cancellations or postponements. Online, related posts are flooding in, such as "I'm too anxious about the forest fire spreading, so I can't travel," "I was scared of getting trapped if I went on a trip, so I canceled," and "I guess I have to give up on this year's cherry blossom trip." Although not in the forest fire-affected areas, inquiries about cancellations are also continuing for Gyeongju and Pohang in Gyeongbuk. One netizen wrote, "I was planning to visit Gyeongju this weekend, but since it's not a fire-affected area, the accommodation won't allow free cancellation. I'm worried about what to do."
Meanwhile, on the 27th, the sixth day since the forest fire broke out in Gyeongbuk, rain less than 5mm is forecasted for the first time in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, drawing attention to whether it will help extinguish the forest fire. However, since the dry weather has persisted and the amount of rain is not significant, it is unlikely to play a decisive role in extinguishing the fire. Nevertheless, with daytime temperatures dropping somewhat and wind strength being slightly strong, better firefighting conditions can be expected along with the rain.
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