According to the industry on the 19th, in line with the peak season, LCCs have begun to increase flights to Japan and start new flights one after another.
Jeju Air will start operating the Incheon-Hiroshima route from the 13th of next month. This is the second new route this year, following Oita in Kyushu, which will start operating on the 22nd. Jin Air will also resume its Busan-Sapporo-Fukuoka route seven times a week from the 17th of next month to September 10th. Air Seoul will also expand its Incheon-Tokyo (Narita) route from the 7th of next month to the 30th of August from the current two to three times a day.
According to the industry, the reservation rate for major routes in Japan has reached 80-90% recently. An official from Air Seoul said, “As the yen continues to weaken, the reservation rate for Japanese routes has increased significantly. We are increasing Japanese routes, including not only Tokyo but also Osaka, in line with the summer vacation season.”
There are also special events going on. Jeju Air will hold a special promotion for the Incheon-Hiroshima route until the 30th. The special ticket boarding period is from July 13 to August 31, and can be purchased from KRW 82,600 based on the total one-way price. Air Seoul will also hold a first-come, first-served special event for flights between Incheon and Tokyo until the 11th of next month. Tickets for the Incheon-Tokyo route operating from July 7th to August 30th are freed from KRW 88,000 in total.
Japan travel demand ‘steady’… ‘Unprecedented low yen’ in 8 years
In the midst of a clear recovery in demand for overseas travel in the summer peak season, LCCs that focus on short-distance routes are paying attention to Japan. As the value of the yen against the won has fallen to its lowest level in eight years, demand for travel is expected to remain steady.
Last month, the number of flights and the number of international flights transported at Incheon International Airport recorded the highest level since the Corona 19 incident. According to the industry, the number of flights operated at Incheon Airport last month was 27,860, up 7.9% from the same month last year, the most since January 2020. The number of international passengers transported during that period was also 4,363,500, the highest since January 2020 (6,261,700)먹튀검증.
Since the opening of the free travel route to Japan for the first time in about three years in October of last year, demand for travel related to it has skyrocketed. According to the Aviation Information Portal System, the number of Japanese passengers last month was 750,453, up 181.9% from last May (26,769). The trend continues this month as well. This month, from the 1st to the 19th, 168,252 people used the Incheon-Narita (Tokyo) route of domestic airlines. Compared to the same period last year (19,086), this is a 781.5% increase. In 2019, there is an analysis that the relationship between Korea and Japan has recovered to the level before the ‘No Japan ‘ movement, which was blown by a boycott of Japanese products and travel.
Park Seong-bong, a researcher at Hana Securities, said, “Last month, among the major routes at Incheon Airport, passengers on Japanese routes jumped 2301.4% from May last year, recording the highest increase. recovered,” he said.
With the record low yen, Japan has become a place with attractive prices among overseas travel destinations. The won-yen exchange rate entered the range of 800 won per 100 yen during the day. It is the first time in eight years since the end of June 2015 that the won-yen exchange rate has fallen to the 800-won level.
Previously, in the first quarter of this year, one in three Korean tourists who visited overseas went to Japan. According to the Korea Culture and Tourism Research Institute’s tourism knowledge information system, the number of Korean tourists who visited overseas in the first quarter of this year was 4,979,000, a 55.2% increase from the fourth quarter of last year (3,208,000). Compared to the first quarter of last year (406,000), this is a 1127.5% increase. In particular, the number of tourists visiting Japan reached 1,607,000 (accounted by the Bank of Korea).