TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – As the trade dispute between Japan and South Korea continues to simmer, travelers from the latter country have been looking for new holiday destinations, and Taiwan is coming out on top, reports said Wednesday (September 4).
On booking website Agoda, Taipei finished first as the most favored destination for South Korean travelers planning a trip during the September 13 Chuseok holiday which coincides with Taiwan’s Mid-Autumn festival, ahead of the Thai capital Bangkok and the Japanese cities of Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo, the Liberty Times reported.
According to a survey by job platform Saramin, 20 percent of 2,500 respondents said they would prefer to visit Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau, with only 8 percent picking Japan. Only a year ago, Japan received 35 percent of preferences.
South Korean research group Consumer Insight found that the interest of Korean travelers to visit Japan plunged by 72 percent during July and August compared to the same period last year, while interest in Taiwan surged by 7 percent.