JAPAN. Japanese visitor arrivals to South Korea showed a +16% increase in May, the first rise in over a year, Travel Journal International (Online)*, the country’s leading travel publication, reported today.
The 195,158 visitors marked the first increase since April 2005, after which anti-Japanese sentiment hit travel numbers to Korea.
South Korea is the second most popular destination for the Japanese after China, generating more than 2 million Japanese travellers annually. In 2005, arrivals reached 2,439,809.
TJI Online said: “The country is seen as one of the mainstays along with China in helping to boost overseas travel from Japan, prompting many travel agencies to launch new promotions and tours to re-ignite travel to South Korea, along with efforts by the Japanese government.”
China also has been facing weaker traffic from Japan because of anti-Japanese sentiments that led to protests in April 2005, prompting a drop in consumer demand for travel to the country.
However, traffic has improved in the first three months of 2006. China visitor numbers are now just -5.61% behind the pace of a year ago at 850,566.
*Note: The Moodie Report works closely with Travel Journal International Online, which is the pre-eminent provider of information on the Japanese travel industry. To subscribe, please click here. It comes with our highest recommendation.
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