By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Kim Kyung-hee, a 34-year-old office worker who studied at a college in Japan and is fluent in Japanese, used to visit the country two to three times every year. In 2008, though, she stayed put in Korea.
``The strong yen prevented me from going to Japan. Well, it was not the matter of only the exchange rate. I simply did not have money to travel, as the prices of my stocks kept falling,’’ she said.
The economic slowdown has affected many Koreans ― the number traveling overseas decreased last year compared with a year before, marking the first drop in five years.
According to Incheon Airport Immigration, Wednesday, about 9.3 million Koreans went overseas through the airport last year, an 11.4 percent decrease from the 10.5 million the previous year, excluding those traveling overseas through other airports or ports. The number of outbound travelers had kept rising since the 7.23 million in 2004.
``The number took a downturn last May. During the last quarter of last year, some 1.79 million Koreans went overseas, a 29 percent drop from the same period in 2007,’’ an immigration officer said.
He said it was the first time the number of airport users decreased since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003.
Travel agencies have also seen a decrease in the number of outbound customers. Hana Tour, the nation’s biggest travel agency, said it had recorded an 11.3 percent decline last year compared with the previous year. ``The number of customers dropped by 47 percent in December from the same period in 2007,’’ said Jung Ki-youn, a manager there.
He said high fuel surcharges and exchange rates unfavorable to Korea were the main reasons behind the fall. ``I think the more important reason was a contraction in consumer sentiment,’’ Jung said.
He said the travel agency has had fewer bookings for trips in January and February this year and expects the slump to continue at least until the end of the first half of the year.
Travelers going in the other direction, though, are on the increase. The number of foreigners visiting Korea rose, with roughly 4.5 million arriving at Incheon, a 6.7 percent increase from the 4.2 million in 2007.