The top European and Asian destinations for Korean-American travelers in Los Angeles this year were Spain and Japan.
The Korea Daily surveyed six Korean-American travel agencies in Los Angeles about this year’s travel trends, and Spain topped the list of European countries.
“I always wanted to go to Barcelona to see the works of architect Gaudi, and it was unforgettable to visit Park Güell, Casa Mila, Casa Batlló, and the Sagrada Familia Cathedral,” said Sophia Chang, an Apple Valley resident who traveled to Europe with her family in May.
“Beyond Barcelona, Spain is a popular destination for many reasons, including Madrid, the center of Spanish culture, Valencia, famous for its tomato festival, Malaga, Picasso’s hometown, Seville, home of bullfighting, and Granada, the city of the Alhambra,” said Steve Cho, executive director of Aju Tour.
France, with its Eiffel Tower, Bordeaux wines, and Cannes, the city of cinema, and Italy, with its Roman amphitheater, Vatican, and Leaning Tower of Pisa, came in second and third, while the United Kingdom, Turkey, Portugal, Germany, Norway, and the Czech Republic were also among the top destinations for Korean Americans.
In Asia, Japan took the title. The country’s popularity as a tourist destination that ties in with traveling to South Korea, as well as its record-breaking exchange rate, reportedly attracted an unusually high number of visitors.
In fact, South Korea ranked first in the number of foreigners visiting Japan by nationality in the first half of this year, which saw the highest number of arrivals ever, with 25% of the total, while the U.S. came in fourth.
Eugene Cho, a college student who spent a week exploring Tokyo with her friends for summer vacation, said, “From hotel and transportation to shopping, the exchange rate made it easy to travel. Especially with no tipping, eating out was almost 50-60% of what it would have cost in LA. Although the exchange rate has risen a bit recently, I’m looking into going again during the holidays.”
“There is a lot of demand for Korean Americans seeking to travel to Japan, with 30 people confirmed to depart every week until the second week of next month,” said Youngim Shin, vice president of Samho Tour.
The second and third most popular destinations in Asia were Vietnam, with Danang, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Nha Trang, and Thailand, with Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Pattaya, followed by Taiwan.
According to TravelPirates’ latest ranking of the most visited countries in 2024, France, the host country of the 2024 Olympics, came in first with 89.4 million visitors, followed by Spain with 83.7 million.
In third place was the U.S., with 79.3 million visitors, whose top tourist destinations included Yosemite National Park and San Francisco, as well as the Statue of Liberty in New York, Alaska, and Hawaii.
Beijing, China (65.7 million) and Italy (64.5 million) followed in fourth and fifth place, respectively, with Turkey (51.2 million), Mexico (45.0 million), Thailand (39.8 million), Germany (39.6 million), and the UK (39.4 million) rounding out the top 10.
BY NAKI PARK, HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]
