More Korean families are choosing to travel instead of performing ancestral rites during the Chuseok holiday, data showed Wednesday.
According to travel platform Hotels.com, 60 percent of this year’s Chuseok holiday bookings were for family or group trips, 25 percentage points higher than the annual average of 35 percent.
The trend shows that while people still prioritize spending time with family, the gathering place has shifted from the home to travel destinations. The platform added that “family-friendly” was the most common search filter, accounting for 83 percent of the total.
With this year’s extended autumn holiday, early planners preferred long-distance overseas destinations, while those who booked closer to the holiday period opted for domestic travel or nearby countries.
Japan was the most popular overseas destination. Searches for Japanese cities surged in early September compared to mid-August — Fukuoka rose 60 percent and Kumamoto 35 percent. Hoi An in Vietnam followed with a 50 percent increase, while searches for Hong Kong rose 35 percent and Taipei 15 percent.
A separate survey of 1,000 adults by travel agency Skyscanner in August showed similar results. Some 85 percent of respondents said “traveling during holidays has become the norm,” while 35 percent said they would travel instead of visiting their parents’ homes.
shinjh@heraldcorp.com
