Millennials and Gen Z are trend leaders in tourism amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.

The KTO, which analyzed data from local mobile carrier KT from January 2019 to December 2020, said that different generations travel in a different manner.

In 2020, the total movement rate for tourism decreased by 7.1 percent compared to the previous year, while movement in one’s own residential area increased by 3.4 percent.

Generation Z, or the Zoomers, visited museums, galleries and theme parks while Generation X and Baby Boomers in their 40s to 50s visited nature-friendly destinations.

Millennials and some Zomers were the most likely to venture outside of their immediate neighborhoods, accounting for 62.1 percent of such movements. They visited shopping destinations and beaches that are well-known on social media. The KTO labeled these generations the trend leaders.

Destinations such as the Seochon neighborhood in central Seoul, Bojeong-dong Cafe Street in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Bupyeong Kkangtong Market and Haeundae Beach in Busan, Anmok Beach in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Woljeongri Beach on Jeju Island were popular.

Generation X and Baby Boomers preferred diverse tourist destinations. However, seven of the top 10 tourist spots were nature-friendly destinations, such as Seongsan Ilchulbong on Jeju Island and Taehwagang National Garden in Ulsan.

Seniors moved the least among all generations, but moved the most in areas near their homes. They visited the Han River parks in Seoul, Cheonggyesan in Gyeonggi Province, Dongbaek Island in Busan and more.

“This analysis is about providing objective data for future tourism policies and marketing strategies,” Kim Young-mi from the Tourism Big Data department at the KTO said. “We will analyze the data related to tourism in depth and multilaterally, going over diverse agendas in the tourism industry.”

For more detailed information regarding tourism data, check the KTO’s data lab at datalab.visitkorea.or.kr.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)