Domestic Travel Sees Unexpected COVID-19 Boom... Quarantine Measures Take a Backseat

Increase in Outing Crowds After Daily Quarantine
766,834 Tourists in Jeju in May
About 70% Increase Compared to Previous Month

Excited Tourists Neglect Quarantine
Crowding at Popular Restaurants Without Masks
Businesses Neglect Temperature Checks and Visitor Logs

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Office worker Park Ju-yeon (40) was startled while looking for accommodation for a weekend hike in Jirisan. Hotels near the trails were fully booked and unavailable. As shelters and forest lodging facilities in Jirisan closed due to COVID-19 prevention measures, hikers flocked to hotels. Park said, "I thought booking would be easy because of COVID-19, but the hotels were full, so I postponed my hiking plans."

As the COVID-19 situation continues for over five months, the domestic travel industry is experiencing an unexpected boom. This is attributed to increased outings following the transition to everyday quarantine measures and the financial relief from emergency disaster relief funds distributed to all citizens. The trend also reflects people choosing domestic travel destinations to relieve "COVID blue" (depression) as overseas travel routes are blocked due to the spread of COVID-19 in the US and Europe.

According to the Jeju Tourism Association on the 3rd, the number of tourists visiting Jeju last month increased by about 70% from the previous month, reaching 766,834. The same goes for the East Coast tourist spot Gangneung. A car rental company in Gangneung said, "Since the golden holiday last month, the number of travelers visiting Gangneung has increased," adding, "There were no sales until April, but from May, sales recovered to about 70% of the same month last year."

While domestic attractions are lively for the first time in a while, concerns arise from the way people are ignoring quarantine rules in their excitement to travel. Lee (61), who recently went on a group trip to Jeju, said, "Despite concerns about COVID-19 infection, it was easy to see people not wearing masks," adding, "We visited a restaurant famous for its food, but there was no guidance on mask-wearing, and no temperature checks or visitor logs were conducted." Kim (30), who traveled to Gangneung on the 30th of last month, visited a popular cafe and had to stand in a crowded line with dozens of people for about an hour. Although the weather was hot and masks were lowered below the chin, the cafe took no action, and it seemed impossible to conduct temperature checks or visitor log entries for the influx of customers.

Increased infection fears due to the travel boom also grew after a cluster of confirmed cases emerged from a church pastors' meeting in Gunpo and Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, who had traveled to Jeju as a group. Pastor A (61) and 25 others traveled to Jeju from the 25th to 27th of last month, and among eight car rental co-passengers, six tested positive. Starting with these six, secondary transmission to family and coworkers in Gunpo and Anyang occurred, with at least 15 people infected according to health authorities. Jeon Byung-yul, dean of the Graduate School of Health Industry at CHA University, emphasized, "The rules to follow during the everyday distancing phase are the same as during social distancing," adding, "At travel destinations, it is essential to strictly adhere to quarantine rules such as wearing masks, maintaining a 2-meter distance, and avoiding enclosed or crowded places."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.