1.5 Mil. to Travel Overseas for Vacation
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
More than 1.5 million Koreans are expected to go overseas during summer vacation season, a 10.6 percent increase from the same period last year, according to the government.
The Ministry of Construction and Transportation forecast that 1.55 million people will leave the country between July 20 and Aug. 15, a daily average of 58,000 travelers.
The figure is 10.6 percent more than that during the same period in 2006, and a 27.8 percent increase from that of other times of the year.
About 83 percent will travel in Asia _ 29.6 percent will head for Southeast Asia, 27.8 percent for Japan and 25.9 percent for China.
Most, 92.6 percent planned the trip for tourism, while 3.7 percent will go overseas to visit their studying children and 1.9 percent to see relatives.
To ease congestion and passengers' inconvenience, the Incheon International Airport Corporation will place as many staff members as possible at check-in counters and put additional self-check-in kiosks that passengers without baggage can use.
Information centers will also be available for 24 hours.
An official of the corporation advised travelers to arrive more than two hours earlier than flight time, especially those whose departure is scheduled at rush hour of between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., around 1 p.m., and between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The corporation expects up to 109,000 people will use the airport on Aug. 11, including those arriving, departing and transferring.
In the meantime, a survey of the ministry showed people take fellow travelers' vacation schedules into consideration when deciding their own vacation period, with 44.8 percent of 4,080 families surveyed.