Fewer Koreans traveling to Japan

Number of Japanese to Korea rises in July

By Kang Seung-woo

More Koreans, angered by Tokyo's trade restrictions on Seoul, are refraining from visiting the neighboring country, with the number visiting Japan in July hitting its lowest monthly total in 10 months. However, the upward trend of Japanese travelers to Korea is continuing.

As a result of the Japanese government's decision to tighten its control on exports to Korea, a widespread anti-Japan campaign has gained ground here, with people boycotting Japanese goods and trips to the country.

The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) said, Thursday, about 561,700 Koreans visited Japan last month, down 7.6 percent year-on-year, and the lowest figure since September 2018 when an earthquake struck Hokkaido and a typhoon shut down Kansai International Airport.

According to the Japanese organization, worsening bilateral diplomatic ties, Koreans' growing appetite for Vietnam and China as vacation spots, and the sluggish Korean economy contributed to the tourist decline.

“In the past when natural disasters stopped tourists from visiting Japan, the government spent extra money to promote its tourism industry. However, this time, given that the decline was due to public sentiment, there has been no specific measure under review by the government to attract Korean travelers,” said an official of the JNTO's Seoul office.

As Japan is losing Korean tourists, local airlines have decided to cut their flights to Japanese cities, highlighted by Korean Air's plan to halt operations on three routes between the two countries and temporarily suspend another three.

Unlike the declining number of Koreans visiting Japan, the number of Japanese tourists visiting Korea is not decreasing.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), Thursday, 274,830 Japanese visitors came to Korea in July, a 19.2 percent increase from 230,512 in the same month last year.

“The upward trend means the chilled diplomatic relations have had little negative impact on Japanese tourists' trips to Korea,” a KTO official said.

In the first half of the year, 1.65 million Japanese traveled to Korea, up 26.6 percent year-on-year.

“Independent tourists, who are not interested in politics, contributed to the increase,” the official said.

But he added the KTO will keep monitoring the trend for a possible decline in the future if the diplomatic tension becomes protracted.