Jeju sours as vacation location with Koreans jetting overseas

Fewer Koreans are visiting Jeju Island, once a popular holiday destination, in favor of neighboring countries like Japan, Thailand and Vietnam thanks to the reopening of borders and increased affordability.

The bustling departure gate of Incheon International Airport for outbound travelers to Japan on Monday. [NEWS1]

Fewer Koreans are visiting Jeju Island, once a popular vacation destination, in favor of neighboring countries like Japan, Thailand and Vietnam thanks to the reopening of borders and increased affordability.

The declining popularity of Jeju Island in Korea can be linked to negative perceptions surrounding the overcharging of tourists and the growing appeal of overseas travel following the pandemic.

According to data from the Jeju Tourism Association, the number of domestic tourists visiting Jeju Island in June decreased by about 186,000, or 14.5 percent, compared to the same period last year.

A 32-year-old office worker surnamed Lee, who recently went on a two-night, three-day trip to Bangkok, Thailand, with her husband, chose the nearby Southeast Asian destination over Jeju Island due to the overall lower cost of travel and hotel prices in Bangkok. The trip cost them over 1.5 million won ($1,150) for two people.

“Although the round-trip airfare to Bangkok cost around 400,000 won per person, the cost of staying in a four-star hotel was only around 100,000 won per night,” Lee explained. “Considering the savings on accommodation and the overall lower cost of living compared to Korea, it seemed like a decent choice."

During the peak vacation season in July, the nationwide average consumer price inflation rate was 2.3 percent, but Jeju Island recorded the lowest rate at 1.2 percent. The slowing inflation in consumer prices on the island was due to the decrease in demand following a steep rise in prices for accommodation, food and services in resort areas.

Travel-related categories also experienced an unusual contraction during the vacation season. Car rental fees decreased by 17.4 percent compared to a 24.7 percent increase last year in July. Similarly, domestic group travel expenses fell 9.3 percent after experiencing a 27.5 percent increase in the previous year.

As more Koreans are traveling abroad, Japan emerges as a top overseas trip choice with the depreciation of the yen.

The number of tourists on the Korea-Japan route during the first half of this year was 8,501,488, which was 6.5 percent higher than the 7,980,674 travelers between Jeju and Seoul during the same period.

The busiest international air route during the first half of this year was between Incheon International Airport and Osaka Kansai International Airport in Japan, according to the government's air portal.

To counter the decline in domestic tourists, Jeju Island has announced seven strategies to attract more local travelers, including implementing price controls, offering discount events and developing appealing tourism products.

Industry experts view the decline in Jeju Island's tourism as a natural consequence of the pandemic.

"As the overseas travel market returns to normal, the number of flights to Jeju Island has decreased, leading to a decline in the number of tourists," a spokesperson from Hana Tour said. "This is seen as a process of returning to normalcy."

Meanwhile, the vacancies left by domestic tourists are being filled by foreign visitors.

Foreign tourist arrivals on Jeju Island during the first half of this year surged by 784.4 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching a total of 213,927 visitors, according to the Jeju Tourism Association. This comes in stark contrast to a 5.6 percent decrease in domestic tourist arrivals during the same time period.

The nationalities of foreign tourists visiting Jeju Island were primarily from China, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Japan.

The number of Chinese tourists who visited the island, in particular, numbered 79,409, jumping by 2,763.6 percent compared to the same period last year. Chinese visitors to Jeju made up 37.1 percent of all foreign visitors, compared to the Chinese share of 12.3 percent of all foreign tourists in Korea.

Although group tourism from China to Korea has not yet resumed, Jeju Island has experienced a considerable influx of individual Chinese tourists through the visa-free entry system.

Expectations suggest that Chinese tourists traveling in large groups, known as youke, may come back starting in September. Xing Haiming, the Chinese ambassador to Korea, noted on July 26 that, "We are paying special attention to accommodating a large number of Chinese tourists visiting Jeju Island," expressing his willingness to cooperate in resuming group tourism. Prior to China's economic retaliation for deploying the Thaad system in 2017, Jeju Island welcomed an annual three million youke tourists, leading the foreign tourism market of Korea.

BY YI WOO-LIM, SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]