"The Chuseok holiday was short, so I went to 'this country'" ... Which overseas destination topped travel bookings, beating Japan and Vietnam?

[Financial News] China attracted the highest demand for overseas travel during this year's Chuseok holiday period. The strong popularity of China and other short-haul destinations is attributed to the relatively short holiday and rising fuel surcharges caused by high oil prices in the wake of conflicts in the Middle East.
According to the travel industry on the 28th, China accounted for the largest share, at 32%, of Hanatour's overseas travel bookings for departures during the past Chuseok holiday period from September 23 to 27. Japan closely followed at 31%, while Southeast Asia accounted for 27%. Bookings for short-haul destinations such as China, Japan and Southeast Asia made up 90% of the total, 7 percentage points (p) higher than the 83% recorded during last year's Chuseok holiday.
Modetour Network also recorded a high share of bookings for China, Japan and Southeast Asia, at approximately 88% of all overseas travel bookings for departures from the 24th to the 27th of this month. China posted the highest booking share at 35.7%, followed by Japan at 26.9% and Southeast Asia at 24.9%. Europe accounted for 5.1%, followed by the Americas and the South Pacific at 4.7%.
At Yellow Balloon Tour, China accounted for the largest share of bookings for departures during the holiday period, at 37.1%, followed by Japan at 30.5%. Vietnam accounted for 9.4%, while Taiwan represented 7.4%.
The analysis suggests that demand was concentrated on short-haul routes, which involve less travel burden given the relatively short holiday period. The 24th, the first day of the holiday, was the most popular departure date at 39%, followed by the 23rd at 23%.
By contrast, data released by Incheon International Airport Corporation on international passenger numbers by region during the Chuseok holiday showed that Japan had the largest share at 28.2% (308,287 passengers). It was followed by Southeast Asia at 21.1%, China at 19.7%, the Americas at 9.7%, Northeast Asia at 9.4% and Europe at 7.6%.
The corporation said that an average of 219,805 people used Incheon International Airport each day from the 23rd to the 27th, the Chuseok holiday period. This was the highest daily average on record for a Chuseok holiday. Passenger traffic peaked on the 23rd for departures, with 124,989 passengers, and on the 27th for arrivals, with 131,382 passengers. Total passenger traffic during the holiday period reached 1,099,025.
[email protected] Kim Hee-sun Reporter