Last month, attracting tourists, “infinite”
All-round differentiation with products at very high prices
Visa-free entry for free travelers to Japan resumed on the 11th of last month has been a hot topic in the Korean tourism industry. This is because the possibility of tourists leaving popular tourist destinations such as Jeju, which has enjoyed a super boom since the outbreak of Corona 19, has been increased. It is also a rival that competes to attract foreign tourists due to its geographical proximity.
Over the past month, the “performance” in attracting tourists from both countries has been so good that it was difficult to distinguish between superiority and inferiority. With the influence of the “King Dollar”, favorable conditions have been created for foreign travelers such as the United States to travel, which has had a positive effect on both countries. The two countries are ready to engage in a fierce “tourism war” by focusing their efforts on developing specialized tourism products so that the other country does not lose strength.
According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) on the 18th, the number of foreign visitors to Japan last month was 498,600. This is a 2.4x increase from the previous month (206,500). The resumption of the visa-free system for individual and independent travelers since the 11th of last month is a key factor in the rapid increase in foreign tourists.
South Korea has seen an increase in tourists as has Japan. According to the Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters of the Ministry of Justice, the number of foreigners who visited Korea last month was 289,590, an increase of 73.9% from the previous month (166,568).
Group tourists and foreigners entering Jeju Island are excluded from this. As such, analysis from the tourism industry is that the number of foreigners who have actually visited Korea is likely to be much higher than this.
Both countries are focusing their efforts on developing various tourism products which will attract the attention of foreign tourists. Since it is not easy to attract “big money” Chinese tourists, both countries are focusing on developing super-expensive products that cost hundreds of millions of won per trip to raise the unit price.
Reporter Lee Mi-kyung [email protected]
