SEOUL, August 31 (AJP) - More than one in four Japanese traveling abroad this year chose South Korea, drawn by its proximity and the relative affordability of won-priced travel as rising costs and a weak yen weigh on longer-haul trips.
Korea welcomed 12.8 million foreign visitors from January to July, up 21.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Japanese visitors accounted for 2.28 million, up 18.8 percent from 1.92 million over the same period last year.
The increase outpaced Japan's broader outbound recovery.
A total of 8.14 million Japanese people traveled overseas in the first seven months, up just 4.1 percent from a year earlier.
Korea's share in Japan's outbound travelers reached 28 percent, the highest on record, ahead of other major destinations such as the United States, Taiwan, Thailand and Viet Nam.
The trend is also showing up outside Seoul.
Gimhae International Airport, the main gateway to Busan and southeastern Korea, recorded 269,752 Japanese arrivals from January to July, up 52 percent from a year earlier.
Jeju International Airport saw 22,048 Japanese arrivals, up 60 percent, while Cheongju International Airport recorded 20,548, up 93 percent.
Japanese travel agencies have also pointed to Korea's popularity.
JTB Corp., one of Japan's largest travel agencies, ranked Korea first in overseas travel bookings by country during Japan's Golden Week holiday.
HIS Co., another major Japanese travel agency, ranked Seoul first among overseas cities, with Jeju and Busan placing fifth and sixth.
Weekly seats on Korea-Japan routes reached 349,000 in July, up 2.4 percent from the end of last year.
The ministry said Korean pop culture, expanded air links and currency conditions have helped sustain demand from Japan.
The government is working with the Korea Tourism Organization to develop regional tourism packages tied to local airports, along with airfare discounts and charter flight incentives.
Foreign tourist spending in Korea has also grown faster than visitor arrivals.
Foreign card spending reached 12.09 trillion won ($8.7 billion) from January to July, up 48.3 percent from 8.15 trillion won a year earlier.
That was more than double the 21.3 percent increase in foreign arrivals over the same period.
Kang Jung-won, the ministry's tourism policy director, said the government would respond to market conditions to keep the recovery going.
AJP Takeaways
· Japanese visitors to Korea rose 18.8 percent to 2.28 million from January to July.
· Korea accounted for 28 percent of Japan's outbound travel market, a record high.
· Gimhae Airport, the main gateway to Busan, saw Japanese arrivals rise 52 percent.
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