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Koreans pick France as dream travel spot
China and Japan preferred as realistic alternatives
By Lee Woo-youngPublished : Dec. 18, 2013 - 19:17
Koreans have chosen France and Australia as their most desired travel destinations, but with short vacation days, they settle for Hong Kong/Macao, China and Japan as realistic travel spots.
According to a recent tourism trend survey conducted by the Korea Tourism Organization, France was voted the top destination that Koreans wished to visit if given more money and days off, followed by Australia, the mainland U.S., Hawaii and Italy. The survey was conducted among 1,000 Koreans aged 18 and over who have traveled overseas at least once.
Reality, however, has Koreans staying close to home, choosing to travel to neighboring countries due to short holidays. Japan, China and Thailand topped the list of countries Koreans visited recently.
Koreans receive an average of seven vacation days per year, shorter than the world average of 20 days, according to a recent survey conducted by Expedia.com among some 8,000 working people worldwide.
The country is also notorious for long working hours with 2,090 hours spent on the job annually, which is second highest in the OECD ranking of annual working hours in 2012.
Although their travel options seem limited, more than 80 percent of Koreans are planning to travel overseas in 2014, hoping to add extra vacation days as a new law takes effect that extends holidays falling on a weekend to the next weekday.
More than 44 percent responded that they plan to go abroad in May over Children’s Day and Buddha’s Birthday, which fall on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
Koreans take an average of six days per overseas trip, spending on average 2.2 million won ($2,100) and choose to travel individually, the KTO said. They prefer popular attractions to newly introduced spots and to try local food rather than stick to Korean food for meals.
About 37 percent of respondents said they have gone on a trip for a specific purpose such as trying local cuisine, visiting historical places and seeing art and architecture. Of them, around 48 percent said their trip was to try local cuisine, followed by about 38 percent to focus on historical sites and around 21 percent to see art and architecture.
By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)
According to a recent tourism trend survey conducted by the Korea Tourism Organization, France was voted the top destination that Koreans wished to visit if given more money and days off, followed by Australia, the mainland U.S., Hawaii and Italy. The survey was conducted among 1,000 Koreans aged 18 and over who have traveled overseas at least once.
Reality, however, has Koreans staying close to home, choosing to travel to neighboring countries due to short holidays. Japan, China and Thailand topped the list of countries Koreans visited recently.
Koreans receive an average of seven vacation days per year, shorter than the world average of 20 days, according to a recent survey conducted by Expedia.com among some 8,000 working people worldwide.
The country is also notorious for long working hours with 2,090 hours spent on the job annually, which is second highest in the OECD ranking of annual working hours in 2012.
Although their travel options seem limited, more than 80 percent of Koreans are planning to travel overseas in 2014, hoping to add extra vacation days as a new law takes effect that extends holidays falling on a weekend to the next weekday.
More than 44 percent responded that they plan to go abroad in May over Children’s Day and Buddha’s Birthday, which fall on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
Koreans take an average of six days per overseas trip, spending on average 2.2 million won ($2,100) and choose to travel individually, the KTO said. They prefer popular attractions to newly introduced spots and to try local food rather than stick to Korean food for meals.
About 37 percent of respondents said they have gone on a trip for a specific purpose such as trying local cuisine, visiting historical places and seeing art and architecture. Of them, around 48 percent said their trip was to try local cuisine, followed by about 38 percent to focus on historical sites and around 21 percent to see art and architecture.
By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)
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