News
Japan-Korea tensions seen as thawing
December 6th 2019
A 66% decrease in Koreans visiting Japan hurting Korean aviation and Japanese tourism. Read More »
Korean aviation may have seen the bottoming of demand for travel to Japan. On December 16, Korea and Japan will hold talks on trade control, an issue that caused a breakdown in relations during the northern summer and effected consumer sentiment.
Nationalist pride in Korea dented demand for Japan, the popular short-haul destination that often was the largest outbound market for Korean carriers. Korea’s LCC sector was especially hurt in an already a difficult year due to the won’s strengthening and some impact from the 737 MAX grounding and 737 NG pickle fork inspections.
Korean visitors to Japan declined 66% in October, the latest month statistics are available. Growth from other major markets - China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the U.S. and Thailand – was not sufficient to offset the fall in Korean visitors. Overall, visitors to Japan were down 5.5% in October, the second decrease this year after August’s 2.2% decline. Year-to-date growth remains up 3.1%.
