Korea was the most popular overseas destination for Japanese travelers in the first seven months of this year, accounting for 28% of all Japanese outbound trips — far ahead of the United States, Taiwan and Thailand.
A total of 2,280,159 Japanese visited Korea from January to July, up 18.8% from a year earlier, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on the 31st. Total Japanese outbound travel rose 4.1% to 8,135,903 over the same period, meaning the increase in trips to Korea far outpaced the overall growth and signaling stronger preference for Korea as a destination. Korea's share of Japanese outbound travel rose 3.5 percentage points to 28.0% this year from 24.5% a year earlier. That is more than double the share for the United States at 13.1%, and ahead of Taiwan at 9.4% and Thailand at 6.8%.
Expanded air service between the two countries and the popularity of K-culture drove the demand, according to the ministry. Weekly seat capacity on Korea-Japan routes rose 2.4% to 348,751 in July from 340,441 in December last year. Continued demand in Japan for Korean food and cosmetics also contributed. The weak yen was another factor: the currency's decline against the won was smaller than that of the dollar or the yuan, easing the burden of travel costs.
Japanese tourists also made greater use of regional airports. Arrivals of Japanese travelers through Gimhae International Airport rose 52% through July from a year earlier, while Jeju and Cheongju airports saw increases of 60% and 93%, respectively.
Overall inbound tourism expanded along with the rise in Japanese visitors. A total of 12,803,042 foreign nationals visited Korea from January to July, up 21.3% from a year earlier. Credit card spending by foreign visitors over the same period rose 48.3% to 12.0859 trillion won ($8.7 billion).
"The number of Japanese tourists visiting Korea is rising on the back of increased flight capacity, the popularity of K-culture and exchange rate movements," said Kang Jung-won, head of the ministry's tourism policy office. "We will sustain the growth in inbound tourism by responding to market conditions."
