Korean travelers grab first chance to return to Japan

Seoul's Gimpo International Airport was filled with travelers flying to Japan on the first day of lifted border restrictions Tuesday.

Passengers wait in a long line to check in at Gimpo International Airport for a flight to Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday. The sign in front reads "Back to traveling in Japan." [YONHAP]

Seoul's Gimpo International Airport was filled with travelers flying to Japan on the first day of lifted border restrictions Tuesday.

“My husband has been working in Japan, and I wasn’t able to see him for a while due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Kim Min-jeong, who took an Asiana flight from Gimpo to Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday morning.

“I'm glad to be able to travel conveniently without a visa now,” she said. Kim said she and the couple's child will stay in Japan for about a month.

Japan ended its suspension of visa-free entry for 68 regions and countries, including the United States and Korea, on Tuesday. The suspension was in place for two years and seven months to curb the coronavirus spread.

Flights from Seoul to Tokyo were mostly full Tuesday.

Many travelers on the first plane on Tuesday were people separated from relatives due to the pandemic.

“I'm going to stay for a week and travel and go shopping with my granddaughter, whom I haven't seen for a long time,” said Ms. Lee, who went to Tokyo with four other family members on Tuesday. Her granddaughter is studying in Japan.

According to the Korea Airports Corporation, there were a total of eight flights between Gimpo and Haneda on Tuesday, with 925 people traveling to Japan. A total of 28 flights will leave from Gimpo to Haneda in the first week.

On Tuesday, Japan also lifted a daily cap of 50,000 arrivals. Travelers are no longer limited to package tours.

To enter, visitors must have received at least three shots of a vaccine approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). If they have not, they must present a negative Covid-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure.

Travel agencies are enjoying a surge in Japan bookings.

According to the tour agency Very Good Tour, sales of Japan trips for October have risen to 3,665, up by 321 percent from the previous month.

Compared to October 2019 during a boycott movement against Japan — the “No Japan” movement — reservations skyrocketed by 857 percent.

Once their favorite destination, around 7.54 million Korean tourists flocked to the neighboring country in 2018.

Japan is happily awaiting the return of tourists and the economic boost they promise.

According to a report by the Nomura Research Institute, spending by overseas visitors is estimated to reach 2.1 trillion yen ($14.4 billion) in 2023, which is equivalent to 0.4 percent of Japan's GDP.

Airlines are increasing their flights to Japan.

The transport ministry announced Tuesday it will double the number of flights on the Gimpo-Haneda route from the current 28 weekly flights to 56 starting Oct. 30.

Airlines operating that route will be able to make two round trips each day from Oct. 30.

“Demand for travel to Japan is recovering rapidly along with the resumption of visa-free entry to Japan,” said Lee Sang-pil, a spokesperson for Very Good Tour. “By this winter, it is expected that demand will recover to that of 2018, before the boycott.”

BY SEO JI-EUN, LEE YOUNG-HEE [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]