57.6% of Daegu Companies Use Incheon Airport for Overseas Business Trips... Daegu Airport 22%, Gimhae Airport 16.8%

Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry Survey on Business Trip Challenges
"Need to Increase Daegu-Incheon Flights"

The Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Chairperson Park Yoonkyung) announced on the 29th that it had conducted a survey of 445 local companies regarding difficulties encountered during overseas business trips from Daegu.

According to the survey, the responding companies (multiple answers allowed) cited "language and cultural barriers (42.8%)" as the most significant challenge when conducting overseas business trips. This was followed by "lack of local business information, such as buyers and exhibitions (35.2%)," "insufficient airport and transportation infrastructure (33.6%)," and "concerns about safety (19.6%)."

Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry

As for improvements related to overseas business trips, local companies most frequently hoped for the "expansion of international routes at Daegu Airport (69.2%)," followed by "simplification of visa issuance and immigration procedures (32.0%)," "improvement of transportation connections to Incheon International Airport (such as direct KTX lines) (27.2%)," and "support for local business interpretation and guides (18.8%)."

The main airports used for overseas business trips were Incheon International Airport (57.6%), Daegu International Airport (22.0%), and Gimhae International Airport (16.8%), in that order.

Additionally, when traveling from Daegu to Incheon Airport, companies most often used KTX (45.1%), followed by airport limousine buses (43.8%), flights (5.6%), and private cars (5.6%). For trips to Gimhae Airport, private cars (54.8%) were used more frequently than airport limousine buses (45.2%).

Furthermore, 84.4% of respondents said that there is a need to increase the number of flights currently operating once daily in each direction between Daegu and Incheon. Also, 91.6% said that the resumption of the previously operated direct KTX line to Incheon Airport is necessary.

For new direct routes that companies would like to see established at Daegu Airport for overseas business trips, Hanoi in Vietnam and Beijing in China were the most desired, each with 35.6%. This was followed by Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam (29.2%), Nagoya in Japan (25.2%), and Singapore (20.0%).

In addition, for the revitalization of Daegu International Airport, "expansion of international routes (92.8%)" was cited as the most necessary improvement, followed by "improving accessibility of public transportation (such as subways and buses) between the city center and the airport (29.6%)," and "expansion of parking spaces (27.2%)."

Meanwhile, regarding the construction of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport, respondents said that "expansion of direct routes to major overseas cities (66.8%)" and "connections between the airport and the city center via public transportation and expressways (64.0%)" are needed. Additionally, 73.2% of responding companies said they intend to use air cargo services if the new airport is built.

For new medium- and long-haul routes desired at the new airport, Los Angeles in the United States (50.4%) was mentioned most frequently, followed by New York (35.2%), Frankfurt (23.6%), Paris (23.2%), Dubai (12.0%), and New Delhi (11.2%).

In this survey, local companies reported that their most frequent overseas business trip destinations were China (44.0%), the United States (30.8%), Japan (28.8%), Vietnam (26.8%), and Germany (12.0%), in that order. The main purposes of these trips were "participation in overseas exhibitions and trade fairs (52.4%)," "consultations and contracts with overseas buyers (48.4%)," "visits to factories or branches (22.0%)," and "technology cooperation and research and development (11.2%)."

Lee Sangkil, Executive Vice Chairman of the Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated, "To support the smooth trade activities of local companies, we will propose the establishment of new international routes as needed by companies, the increase of flights between Daegu and Incheon, and the resumption of the direct KTX line to Incheon Airport. We will also do our utmost to provide a wide range of business information, such as buyer discovery and exhibition information."