Seven out of 10 South Koreans plan to travel abroad after coronavirus vaccines are developed, a survey showed Wednesday.

According to Incheon International Airport Corp.'s recent survey, 70.2 percent of South Koreans and 82 percent of foreign nationals said they have overseas travel plans after the development of COVID-19 vaccines is completed.

The survey was conducted on 1,000 Koreans and 600 foreign nationals from China, Japan, Vietnam and other countries from Oct. 30 to Nov. 20.

Of them, 33.4 percent of Koreans and 35.3 percent of foreigners said they are willing to go abroad within three to six months after the vaccination development.

As for the travel destination, 42.2 percent of Koreans preferred Europe, while 57.2 percent of foreigners preferred Asia.

Over 90 percent of all respondents cited tourism as the reason for overseas travels, while only 8.8 percent of Koreans and 3.4 percent of foreigners cited business purposes.

About half of all respondents said their overseas trips will last seven days to one month, while another 40 percent of them plan on traveling for four to six days.

The survey also showed that over 70 percent of both Korean and foreign respondents plan to receive vaccines. Notably, nearly 90 percent of Koreans said they want to get vaccinations to travel abroad.

Meanwhile, about half of all respondents unwilling to travel abroad even after the vaccine development said they do not want to fly out of the country due to fears of coronavirus infection.

Lim Nam-soo, acting CEO of the Incheon airport corporation, said his company will refurbish its passenger services and airport facilities in anticipation of a rebound in air travel demand, as many people have high expectations for overseas travels in line with the vaccine development. (Yonhap)