Travelers between South Korea and Japan are increasingly favoring smaller cities over major metropolitan hubs, according to Visa, as both countries logged record numbers of visitors from the other last year.
Visa, the global payments technology company, released an analysis of payment data and spending trends among travelers moving between the two countries on the 23rd, timed to the summer holiday season.
In a recent Visa travel intention survey, Japan ranked as the top destination Koreans want to visit, cited by 38.5% of respondents — more than triple the 11.4% for Vietnam, which came in second. Demand for travel to South Korea among Japanese visitors was equally strong. Visa's payment data showed that spending on Japanese Visa cards in South Korea during this year's Golden Week, Japan's longest holiday period in May, jumped about 60% from the weekly average over the prior year.
Both countries' travelers showed a clear shift from big cities to smaller ones. Excluding Japan's three largest cities — Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka — Koreans' Visa card spending rose about 40%, outpacing the roughly 30% growth in the major cities. In some areas, including Shizuoka and Yamaguchi, spending surged about 55%. In a Visa survey on travel to Japan, 58.1% of Korean respondents said they preferred "healing trips to small towns," while 57.7% favored "exploring local neighborhood districts over large facilities."
Spending by Japanese travelers visiting South Korea grew about 55% from a year earlier, centered on the greater Seoul area, which includes Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province. Growth was even steeper in provincial and coastal areas. Spending at coastal and island destinations such as Busan, Jeju and Gangwon soared about 145% from the same period a year earlier, more than double the growth rate in the greater Seoul area.
What Japanese Visitors Did in South Korea
Japanese visitors to South Korea focused on experiencing K-culture and dining out. Their shopping spending during Golden Week rose about 55% from a year earlier. Spending at department stores and other upscale retailers grew about 60%, driven by demand for K-beauty and K-fashion.
In dining, the average amount per transaction rose about 25%, reflecting a tendency to visit high-end restaurants or spend more on special dining experiences. The number of Japanese travelers enjoying South Korea's distinctive "night culture" — late-night meals, performances and clubs — also rose sharply, with spending during late-night hours surging about 70%.
Patrick Storey, president of Visa Korea, said, "Visa's payment data clearly confirms a new travel trend, in which travelers moving between South Korea and Japan venture beyond big-city landmarks to seek out neighborhood districts in smaller cities and open their wallets for experiences that suit their tastes."
Meanwhile, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), 894,700 Koreans visited Japan last month, up 31.9% from the same month a year earlier. Some observers have raised the possibility that the number of Korean tourists visiting Japan could top 10 million for the first time ever this year.
