This file photo shows visitors arriving at Jeju International Airport. (Yonhap)
JEJU, Aug. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The coronavirus pandemic is having a significant impact on Jeju Island’s tourism industry.
The Jeju City Tour Bus that used to bring groups of tourists to various tourist hotspots on the island saw its number of customers drop by more than 50 percent following the coronavirus outbreak.
Luxury hotels, on the other hand, are recovering from poor performance back in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, surpassing last year’s sales as they have succeeded in attracting guests for the summer season.
What is the post-coronavirus landscape of the tourism industry in Jeju?
First, experts argue that miniature, individual, and ‘untact’ means of tourism will replace group travel.
As such, tourists are expected to refrain from going to populated festivities, theme parks, or exhibitions. Instead, they are expected to travel to forests, mountains, or other natural sites with their family and friends.
Also, in the short-term, domestic tourists are expected to rise as major consumers of Jeju tourism.
With the shutdown of overseas travel, more domestic travelers are coming to Jeju for summer vacation.
Experts also expect that both individuals and businesses will reduce travel and business trips.
Instead, more people will work from home or in a remote environment, which is expected to hurt Jeju’s efforts to develop its meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector.
“The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way people travel, calling for close monitoring of the changing patterns of tourism and their impacts on the economy,” said Ko Seon-yeong, head of the research and investigation center at Jeju Tourism Organization.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
