The number of domestic tourists who visited Jeju Special Self-Governing Province during the Chuseok holiday came in more than 11% below initial forecasts. Reduced domestic flight capacity and a growing preference for short-haul overseas trips to destinations such as Japan have combined to weaken domestic demand in Jeju's tourism market.
Domestic Arrivals in Jeju Fall 20,000 Short of Forecasts
The Jeju Tourism Association said on the 28th that a preliminary count showed 212,503 tourists arrived on the island over the five days from the 23rd to the 27th. That is 16,497 fewer than the pre-holiday projection of 229,000, a shortfall of 7.2%.
Domestic tourists numbered 170,399, or 21,501 fewer than the forecast of 191,900. The decline against projections reached 11.2%.
Foreign tourists, by contrast, totaled 42,104, exceeding forecasts by 5,004. Although foreign arrivals beat expectations, the gain was not enough to offset the shortfall in domestic visitors.
Air capacity is also cited as a factor affecting demand for travel to Jeju. Domestic flight schedules for the Chuseok holiday called for 1,105 flights, 38 fewer than a year earlier. Seat capacity stood at 208,865, down 15,449 seats, or 6.9%, from the previous year.
International routes told a different story. Flights were set at 184, up 25 from a year earlier, while seat capacity expanded 14.8%.
For Short Holidays, Travelers Choose Japan: Domestic Visitors Down 9.3% in September
The drop in domestic flight capacity to Jeju was not limited to the holiday period. Scheduled seats on the Gimpo-Jeju route in September totaled 1,084,920 in both directions, 16% fewer than the same month last year. For domestic routes at Jeju International Airport overall, the planned capacity for this year's summer schedule was about 650,000 seats lower than the actual capacity provided a year earlier.
Demand for overseas travel using short holidays also appears to be tied to the decline in visitors to Jeju. Trip.com's Chuseok booking data showed Osaka, Fukuoka and Tokyo ranked as the top three overseas destinations. Bookings for departures on the 23rd, just before the holiday, were about 5% higher than on the first day of the holiday.
The decline in domestic visitors was also pronounced in cumulative figures for September. Through the 27th, 795,921 domestic tourists visited Jeju, down 81,475, or 9.3%, from the same period last year.
Foreign visitors, by contrast, rose 15.3% to 226,388. With foreign demand growing even as domestic arrivals fell, the overall decline in tourist numbers was held to 4.8%. Total visitors in September came to 1,022,309, or 51,430 fewer than a year earlier.
On a year-to-date basis, however, growth has continued. Total visitors to Jeju through the 27th reached 10,387,113, up 3.3% from a year earlier. Domestic visitors rose 1.0% to 8,424,001, while foreign visitors climbed 14.3% to 1,963,112.
Domestic tourist numbers remain above last year's level on an annual basis, but with the decline exceeding 9% in September, which included Chuseok, a recovery in domestic demand appears difficult for Jeju's tourism industry.
