This undated file photo shows Japan-bound travelers at South Korea’s Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jun. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of air travelers between South Korea and Japan surpassed the 10 million mark in the first five months of the year, as the weak yen drove tourists to travel to the neighboring nation, government data showed Friday.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the number of air passengers who traveled between South Korea and Japan between January and May reached a record 10.16 million, up 46.2 percent from the same period last year.
The tally exceeded the 9.38 million for the same period in 2019 before the pandemic. It was also twice as big when compared to the 5.07 million air passengers who traveled between South Korea and China this year.
Industry watchers attribute the prolonged impact of the weak yen to the surge in air travelers between the two countries.
Domestic airlines have significantly expanded the number of flights on their Japanese routes. The total number of flights to Japan during the January-May period increased 37.5 percent on-year to 54,973.
“With the weak yen trend continuing this year, the number of Korean tourists visiting Japan is expected to increase even more,” an aviation industry official said.
(Yonhap)
