Vacationers move to a rental car parking lot after landing at Jeju International Airport, the gateway to Jeju Island, on July 10, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite a prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, tourism on the southern resort island of Jeju has recovered this year, but there has been a clear sign of polarization by business type.
The Jeju Provincial Government and the Jeju Tourism Organization conducted an analysis of credit card sales generated within the province, which revealed that the province’s first-half consumption marked growth of 19.4 percent compared to a year ago and 6.9 percent compared to the pre-COVID-19 level in 2019.
These figures are far higher than the national average of 2.1 percent and 3.7 percent, indicating that the province’s consumption is recovering rapidly.
The first-half consumption of tourists to Jeju Island (both local and foreign tourists) was up 55.2 percent compared to a year ago and 19.5 percent compared to the same period of 2019, exceeding the pre-COVID-19 level.
Nonetheless, tourist consumption was biased in favor of individual travel-specific businesses such as car rental services, luxury hotels and condominiums.
In particular, the car rental industry saw growth of 140 percent and 123 percent in April and May, respectively, compared to the same period of 2019.
In contrast, chartered buses, mid-tier hotels and travel agencies still suffered sluggish growth compared to the level seen in 2019.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
