The Travel Psychology Changed by COVID-19: "56% Prefer Domestic Travel"

Rising Preference for Domestic Travel: "Wanting to Experience Domestic Destinations Not Yet Visited" Ranks First

On the 8th, a plane is flying over the silver grass field at the Sky Garden of Incheon Airport under clear weather. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] It has been revealed that the air travel sentiment of both domestic and foreign nationals has significantly changed since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The proportion of people not considering overseas travel has greatly increased, while the preference for domestic travel destinations has risen sharply.

Incheon International Airport Corporation announced on the 5th that the results of the "COVID-19 Air Travel Sentiment Trend Survey," conducted online from August to November last year with 2,873 domestic and foreign nationals, showed these trends. This survey was conducted targeting domestic residents and foreigners speaking three languages (Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese) to prepare basic data for responding to the post-COVID-19 era.

According to the survey, when asked about overseas travel experience before the COVID-19 outbreak in 2019, 91.9% of domestic respondents and 81.5% of foreigners answered "yes." In contrast, the proportion dropped significantly to 38.5% and 46.5%, respectively, when asked about overseas travel in 2020.

Especially, when asked about plans for overseas travel this year, 39.7% of domestic respondents and 42.0% of foreigners answered "yes," showing only a slight increase. This is interpreted as reflecting the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation despite positive developments such as vaccine development.

Regarding preferred travel destinations, in 2019, 63.7% of domestic respondents and 55.4% of foreigners chose "overseas (other countries)," but after COVID-19, last year, these figures plummeted to 12.1% and 21.4%, respectively. The substitute travel destination that emerged was domestic travel, with domestic travel preference among domestic respondents rising sharply from 36.3% in 2019 to 87.9% last year. However, this year, the gap between domestic (56.2%) and overseas (43.8%) preferences narrowed significantly, which is interpreted as reflecting expectations for the post-pandemic period.

The reasons for choosing domestic travel also changed. In 2019, the most common response among domestic respondents was "because of lower economic burden (27.8%)," but last year, "concerns about COVID-19 infection overseas (52.3%)" was the most cited reason. This year, 30.5% responded that they "want to experience domestic travel destinations they have not yet visited."

As for reasons for choosing overseas (other countries) travel, in 2019, "exploring new travel destinations (43.0%)" was the most common, but last year, "for postponed work and business trips (55.0%)" was the highest. This year, the purpose of exploring new travel destinations increased again to 45.7%.

Lim Nam-su, Acting President of Incheon Airport Corporation, stated, "Based on the results of this survey, we plan to establish response strategies according to changes in air travel trends to ensure the improvement of passenger services and to respond promptly in the post-COVID-19 era."

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