Koreans ditch camping for hotels as tourism rebounds from Covid
South Korean accommodation bookings soared 142.5 per cent in the third quarter from the same period in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic was at its peak, according to hospitality tech firm Onda.
Bookings continue to rise as Covid recedes, with third-quarter sales increasing 75 per cent on-year and 54.4 per cent on-quarter.
Among business types, hotels and resorts showed the highest rise.
Hotels showed a 200.1 per cent increase in turnover during the July-September period from the same period last year, while resorts’ turnover rose 207.2 per cent.
However, bookings for camping, caravanning and glamping fell 4.7 per cent, according to Onda's survey of its 51,000-plus accommodation businesses with 500,000 rooms.
Onda said consumer choices have shifted from camping, where social distancing was possible, to more traditional hotels and resorts amid easing Covid-19 restrictions.
Online bookings are also on the rise, with turnover at popular portals including Naver rising by 130.9 per cent from last year, and bookings through online domestic and foreign travel agencies surging by 79 per cent and 77 per cent respectively.
Onda attributed the upward trends to society’s return to normalcy and the resumption of economic activity.
“[We expect] sales to recover to 2019 levels by the end of next year when travel will become easier,” it said.
The Korea Herald
Asia News Network
