Domestic Tourism This Year is 'BETWEEN'... Between Anxiety and Hope in the COVID Era

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization presented the keyword "B.E.T.W.E.E.N." on the 13th as this year's domestic tourism trend, representing the "in-between" of anxiety and recovery expectations due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

"B.E.T.W.E.E.N." is a compound word made from the first letters of seven English words: Break, Encourage, Tie, Wherever, Enhance, Expect, and Note.

The Ministry and the Tourism Organization analyzed big data from social media, telecommunications companies, and credit card companies over the past three years from January 2018 to August last year to understand the psychological changes caused by COVID-19 and their impact on the travel market, and released the analysis results.

Break refers to the changes in the existing travel industry caused by COVID-19, and Encourage indicates the preference for small healing trips in daily life.

Tie means the phenomenon of strengthened networks with nearby regions close in distance, and Wherever signifies the growing interest in unique travel destinations such as islands or small towns where one can spend personal time without crowds, rather than well-known places centered around the metropolitan area.

Additionally, Enhance refers to trips enjoyed with close people with a sense of bonding, Expect represents the continued desire for travel despite COVID-19, and Note means newly spotlighted travel types such as non-landing travel products.

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