Warm Travel Destinations Popular in Cold Weather... Swimwear and Sunglasses Sales Up

Gmarket Overseas Airfare Sales Increase 13x
Preference for Destinations like Vietnam and Philippines
Proportion of 2030 Generation Soars from 17% to 41%

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chunhan] Office worker Kim Junyoung is planning a trip to Vietnam next week. Excited for his first overseas trip since the COVID-19 pandemic, he bought a swimsuit and sunglasses a few days ago. Kim said, "I bought various things to get into the mood for this long-awaited overseas trip," adding, "I'm already excited thinking about how long it has been since I last took an international flight."

Recently, with the easing of COVID-19 entry restrictions, overseas travel has increased, leading to an unexpected surge in popularity for summer items such as swimsuits and sunglasses. This is analyzed to be because more people are seeking warm travel destinations like Southeast Asia amid the chilly weather.

According to Gmarket on the 1st, sales of overseas airline tickets from the 1st to the 30th of last month increased 13 times compared to the same period last year. In particular, hotel and package sales in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and the Philippines, which have warm weather year-round, increased sixfold and twentyfold respectively. This is significantly higher compared to European hotel and package sales, which rose by 60% and tenfold respectively. Reservations for popular resorts such as Kota Kinabalu, Bali, and Guam also increased. Among warm travel destinations, it seems that people prefer places where they can enjoy relaxation, sightseeing, and shopping simultaneously.

On 11st, sales of overseas airline tickets increased by 136%. Overseas hotel and package sales surged eightfold and nineteenfold respectively. Looking at age groups, the proportion of the 20s and 30s among total overseas airline ticket transactions rose from 17% last year to 41% this year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, business travelers in their 40s and 50s mainly purchased airline tickets, but this year, as overseas travel has become relatively freer, transactions among younger customers have increased.

With the rapid increase in overseas travel, out-of-season swimsuits and sunglasses are enjoying strong sales. At Lotte Department Store, swimsuit sales increased by 110%, sunglasses by 125%, and travel bags by 85%. On Gmarket, sales of travel-related products surged overall, including men's swimsuits (133%), women's swimsuits (33%), beachwear (48%), sunglasses (75%), travel bags (69%), travel accessory bags (142%), travel bag covers (114%), and passport wallets (225%). On 11st as well, swimsuit and travel bag sales increased by 39% and 561% respectively.

An official from the distribution industry said, "Despite the recent cold weather, summer items such as swimsuits and sunglasses are selling well because more people are traveling overseas to resort destinations," adding, "We expect the travel demand, which surged due to the decline in COVID-19 cases, will not easily subside. We plan to offer a variety of products preferred by customers."

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