Koreans Tourists Look for Alternatives to Japan

More Koreans are looking for alternative travel destinations to Japan like China and other Asian countries.

Advertisement

Korea's largest tour operator Hana Tour said that since July 1, when a boycott of Japan started here, bookings of package tours to Chiang Mai in Thailand went up 119 percent compared to a year ago.

There was also an increase in bookings for package tours to Hainan in China by 45 percent, Russia by 31 percent, the Philippines by 31 percent, and Taiwan by nine percent.

Demand for tours to Japan plummeted 36.2 percent.

Flight bookings tell a similar story about individual travelers. Online travel agency Trip.com said flight reservations to Hanoi rose 43 percent from June to July, followed by Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia with 40 percent, Taipei with 37 percent, Shanghai with 31 percent, Bali with 30 percent, and Hong Kong with 19 percent.

"Many people who want to travel abroad are looking for good nearby alternatives to Japan", an industry insider said.