People walk on treadmills at a gym in Seoul on Jan. 18, 2021, as health authorities eased restrictions on cafes, gyms and other indoor facilities the same day amid signs of a letup in new coronavirus cases. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 19 (Korea Bizwire) — Fitness centers are dealing with significant losses after seeing their operations restricted by the central government as part of coronavirus containment measures.
SG Lab, a research arm of the South Korean real estate marketing firm, reported that according to statistics provided by the Ministry of Interior and Safety, 214 gyms closed down during the first quarter this year, which was 10.9 percent more than last year (193 centers), and already more than half of last year’s total of 425 centers.
Health trainers demonstrate CrossFit exercises amid this year’s strongest cold spell during a news conference in front of the main office of the ruling Democratic Party in Seoul on Jan, 8, 2021, to call for the government to take realistic steps in allowing the reopening of indoor sports facilities. (Yonhap)
The number of new fitness centers is also dropping. SG Lab reported that 203 gyms opened in the first quarter this year, which was 63.2 percent less than the 552 recorded last year.
“Despite relaxed quarantine restrictions for fitness centers, demand is failing to recover due to the perception that they are enclosed spaces without proper ventilation, and therefore unhygienic,” noted Cho Hyun-taek, a researcher at SG Lab.
Image Credit: Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
