According to Korean-American travel agencies, airlines, and hotels in the Los Angeles area, Korean inbound group bookings from June through August have almost reached pre-pandemic levels.
“We are experiencing a more than 40 percent increase in inbound package bookings through our Seoul office,” said Youngim Shin, vice president of Samho Tours. “To provide comfortable tours, we are using a 32-seater VVIP limousine bus, but we are not currently handling home shopping tours in Korea due to limited space.”
Helen Park, director of Aju Tours, stated, “We have seen a 150% increase compared to last year. While there were no package tours during the pandemic, the number of group package tours by Korean travel companies has risen, and individual and group incentives have also significantly increased. We also see many cases where people join package tours after visiting their relatives in the United States.”
Moon-sik Lee, director of Blue Tours, added, “Since being designated as the official travel agency of the Korean Business Convention in October, the number of package and incentive teams sent by Korean travel agencies has almost doubled. It is still around 70% compared to before the pandemic.”
Billy Chang, president of Elite Tours, commented, “We have recovered to about 50% of our pre-pandemic levels. We are receiving many bookings for golf tours to Pebble Beach and the Oregon Bandon Dunes, and there is also a high demand for trips to South America and Antarctica.”
Wonchun Park, director of Info Tours, an inbound incentive company, shared, “We expect a 200% increase compared to last year. However, it is still at around 90% of the 2019 level before the pandemic.”
“During the peak summer season, we typically have a booking rate of 90% or higher per flight,” stated a representative from Korean Air’s Americas region.
“This year, unlike last year, we have more capacity due to the introduction of larger planes, but the high booking rate indicates an increase in demand.” A representative from Asiana’s regional headquarters in the Americas also confirmed, “We are observing an increase in bookings compared to last year.”
Brian Kim, head of Air Premia’s Los Angeles office, reported, “As of June, the average booking rate is 94%. This is higher than at the beginning of the year and is expected to continue in July and August.”
He explained, “We consider this a temporary situation due to the post-pandemic normalization, and the difference between peak and off-peak seasons has not been significant so far.”
Korean-American hotels in LA Koreatown are also experiencing high occupancy rates.
Jason Kim, manager of the Oxford Palace Hotel, mentioned, “Although occupancy rates for last year’s summer season were decent, we are anticipating a 10% increase this year, which is approximately 40% higher than the pre-pandemic levels.”
This trend is also expected to boost restaurant sales as some Korean-American travel agencies are taking their tour groups to Korean restaurants in Koreatown.
Meanwhile, anticipation is growing for a special summer season as U.S. visitors’ spending exceeded Americans’ spending abroad for the first time in seven months.
In April, U.S. visitors spent over $17.3 billion in the U.S., marking a 26% increase and the 25th consecutive month of gains, according to the United States Travel and Tourism Administration.
In contrast, Americans spent $17.2 billion abroad. The spending on travel-related goods and services, including lodging and entertainment, reached $9.7 billion, a 35% increase from the previous year.
Total spending for the first four months of the year amounted to $67.2 billion, approximately $560 million per day.
BY NAKI PARK [support@koreadaily.com]
