62% of Koreans Say "I Will Travel Domestically Within 6 Months"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Six out of ten South Korean citizens have plans to travel domestically within the next six months as the country enters the era of phased daily recovery.

According to the Gyeonggi Research Institute, a survey conducted over two days from the 20th to the 21st of last month targeting 1,000 citizens revealed that 62% responded they have plans for domestic travel within six months. In contrast, the intention to travel abroad was lower at 25.5%.

Notably, nearly half (46.8%) of respondents answered "No" when asked about their intention to travel overseas. This is interpreted as reflecting ongoing concerns about safety in overseas travel.

Regarding travel intentions by age group (on a 5-point scale), those in their 20s showed the highest scores (domestic 3.92 points, overseas 2.99 points).

Additionally, 73% of citizens reported having domestic travel experience since the outbreak of COVID-19, which is 1.87 times higher than the 39% recorded in a survey conducted in May 2020.

On the other hand, only 15.9% responded that there is a high possibility of contracting COVID-19 through tourism activities. Compared to 36.2% in the 2020 survey, this is less than half, which the institute interprets as a reduction in anxiety following vaccination.

When asked about the timing of overseas travel after vaccination, 45.8% answered "No plans to travel abroad within one year," suggesting that although the desire to travel abroad has increased, people remain cautious about actually traveling.

The institute proposed measures to address domestic travel demand, including ▲ establishing a foundation for 'safe tourist destinations' through managing tourist density ▲ analyzing new tourism trends ▲ improving the tourism industry's structure through digital-based specialization of tourism human resources.

Lee Su-jin, Head of Research Planning at the Gyeonggi Research Institute, explained, "As tourism demand is expected to surge after vaccination, it is necessary to prepare adaptive measures suited to the changed circumstances," adding, "To activate safe travel for citizens, it is necessary to promote mandatory vaccine passes."

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