By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The number of domestic vacationers is growing while that of holidaymakers heading overseas is decreasing this summer, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said Sunday.
The high won-dollar rate, expensive oil prices and fear of the ever-spreading H1N1 influenza A virus are steering holiday seekers towards domestic attractions, it said.
The number of domestic travelers topped one million in June, the first time since 2003.
The nation's largest travel agency, Hana Tour, secured 98,676 overseas bookings for August, conventionally known as the peak of the summer holidays, down about 14 percent from the same period a year ago.
Kim Hyeong-ryeol, an official of Hotel Java, an online overseas lodgings booker, said people seem not to be planning overseas excursions. ``The page viewings for our Web site are stagnant this month ― something we never expected,'' he said.
The high won-dollar rate is stated as the prime reason keeping Koreans from going overseas. ``The Euro is near the 1,800 won range, about 50 percent jump in a decade. Airlines have raised ticket fares by more than 30 percent to cover rising fuel bills. It doesn't sound attractive to go to foreign countries to enjoy a short vacation in the face of such setbacks,'' said prospective traveler Kim Su-eun, who has dropped her plan to visit Paris in August.
Domestic travel agencies are seeing a dramatic jump in demand. Small motels and ``villas'' in Gangwon Province and Jeju have seen more than a 20 percent jump in reservations. ``All rooms are fully reserved; I guess many people are turning back to domestic markets,'' Kim Young-jin, a cabin owner in Gangwon Province, said.
Due to the sudden increase of inbound travelers, motorways to major leisure spots have been packed with cars. The Korea Expressway Corporation said Sunday that 4.1 million cars were on expressways nationwide Saturday, the third highest number recorded. All planes to Jeju were fully booked and even ferries to the island were packed.
``Local businessmen have joined hands to help the boom in domestic tourism, but I give credit to the economy for the sudden rush,'' Kim said.