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A surge in international fuel surcharges after the Middle East conflict has pushed travelers to favor domestic getaways. With airfares climbing into budget-busting territory, many are choosing nearby hotels and resorts instead.
On the 26th, travel and lodging platform Yeogi-eottae reported that overseas accommodation bookings from the 1st to the 23rd of this month were about 75% of February’s level, down from 82% in the same period last year. By contrast, domestic bookings rose to roughly 107% of February’s level, up from 103% a year earlier.
Analysts say the jump in international fuel surcharges is driving this shift back to homegrown travel.
For May departures, tickets carried the maximum fuel surcharge—stage 33. On long-haul routes, surcharges climbed more than fivefold in two months, cooling travel demand. As a result, major travel agencies reported bookings for long-haul routes to the Americas and Europe fell by about 40% year over year.
Domestic hotels and resorts are seeing higher occupancy than last year. Hanwha Resort’s average April occupancy rose 8 percentage points compared with the same month a year earlier. By region, Gyeongju shot up to 96%—a 21 percentage-point increase—followed by Jeju (up 16.2 points), Daecheon (up 13.5 points) and Haeundae (up 8.8 points).
Booking trends for next month look similar. Popular spots like Haeundae (87.9%) and Gyeongju (82.5%) have already surpassed last year’s actual occupancy. E-Land Park’s Kensington Resort in Gyeongju and Seogwipo, along with Kent Hotel Gwangalli by Kensington, saw April reservations rise 30–40% year over year.
City hotels are busy, too. According to Chosun Hotel & Resort, The Westin Chosun Seoul has maintained around 90% occupancy this month, while L’Escape, Four Points Chosun Myeong-dong and Four Points Chosun Seoul reported strong occupancy rates of 85–93%.
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