There are currently 12,526 hotel rooms available in Jeju, which is an excess of 1,026 rooms (8.2 percent) relative to demand, which stands at 11,500 rooms. (image: Flickr/ Republic of Korea)
SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Korea Bizwire) – The latest economic report by the Bank of Korea indicated that budget accommodations have grown increasingly popular this year on Jeju Island, one of the most popular holiday destinations in South Korea.
According to the report, total hotel revenue increased by only 1.8 percent to 58 billion won ($49.5 million) from January to August 2016, compared to the same period last year, while revenue at other types of lodging facilities (tourist condominiums, pensions, motels, etc.) soared by 27.6 percent from 58 billion won to 74 billion won.
The BOK pointed to an excess supply of hotel rooms in the region and new travel trends embracing low-cost lodging as factors driving hotel industry’s stagnant growth.
In fact, there are currently 12,526 hotel rooms available in Jeju, which is an excess of 1,026 rooms (8.2 percent) relative to demand, which stands at 11,500 rooms, on top of a rapidly growing supply of hotels overall, which jumped by 74.2 percent in the past three years even though demand increased by less than half the figure (31.8 percent).
Local tourists travelling in smaller numbers (one or two) were keen on guesthouses with prices ranging from 20,000 won to 40,000 won per night, the report added, accounting for 20.8 percent of all tourists in 2015.
Chinese visitors to the island, whose annual numbers had surpassed 2.7 million as of October, were also seeking lower-priced accommodations, with the percentage staying in hotels plummeting from 86.3 percent in 2012 to 57.5 percent in 2015.
The total number of tourists visiting Jeju this year was 13.4 million as of October, an increase from 11.4 million compared to the same period in 2015.
By Joseph Shin (jss539@koreabizwire.com)
