Carrier sales increased by 40% compared to last year… Resurrection of private gatherings for 8 people
Energetic gatherings such as MT, university clubs… Some “worried regarding the spread of quarantine amid the increase in confirmed cases”
Mo Kim (29), an office worker, booked a flight ticket to New York on the 22nd with the expectation that he might meet his girlfriend living in New York for the first time in two years. In the meantime, the ‘7-day self-quarantine following returning home’ rule had no choice but to interfere with the company’s business, so even though I wanted to go, I mightn’t afford to go.
However, the stumbling block disappeared when the government announced on the 11th that only those who entered the country who have been vaccinated once morest the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) will be exempted from the quarantine obligation. “As soon as I heard the news of the quarantine being lifted, I made a travel plan,” said Kim.
Song Seong-min (34), an office worker who is regarding to get married on the 9th of next month, also hastily changed the honeymoon destination from Jeju Island to overseas. Song said, “I was very happy to hear that the quarantine duty was lifted.
Demand for overseas travel, which has been suppressed for more than two years, is starting to stretch as the quarantine obligations for those who have been vaccinated following entering the country are removed from the 21st.
○ Air ticket reservations and suitcase sales increase
Right now, overseas air ticket reservations and travel product sales are on the rise. According to Hana Tour on the 22nd, regarding 3,200 people bought overseas travel products from the 11th to the 20th, right following the government announced the lifting of the quarantine obligation. It has doubled compared to the previous ten days (1-10 days). The number of overseas ticket reservations increased by 59% from regarding 4,600 to regarding 7,300 during the same period.
An Interpark Tour official said, “Since the quarantine exemption is announced, there are signs that the overseas travel boom will reappear as more people choose overseas as their summer vacation destination. did.
Incheon International Airport is also getting lively. According to Incheon International Airport Corporation, the number of passengers using the airport on the 21st, the first day of exemption from quarantine, was 11,300, which was higher than the average of 8,800 people per day last year. A construction official said, “The number of passengers in January and February increased by 80% compared to the same period last year.” The company estimates that the number of passengers this year will reach 12 to 38 million, significantly exceeding the level of last year (3.19 million).
Travel bag sales are also on the rise. According to E-Mart, the sales of suitcases and carry-on bags from the 11th to the 20th increased by regarding 40% compared to the same period last year. An E-Mart official predicted that “the demand for overseas travel will explode until the summer vacation season.”
○ Signs of a revival of dinner parties and group events
As the quarantine authorities eased the limit on the number of private gatherings from six to eight, many are resuming postponed gatherings, such as dinner parties.
Ms. Im (39), an office worker, held a farewell party for 7 co-workers and colleagues at a meat restaurant in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 21st. Lim said, “It’s practically the first dinner in two years. Choi Bong-im, 47, the owner of this restaurant, said, “Group reservations have been coming in right following the talk of easing the eight people.” Group activities such as MT, a club that had been suspended in the university district, are reviving.
With hundreds of thousands of new COVID-19 cases still pouring in every day, some are concerned regarding the slack in quarantine. Professor Kim Woo-joo of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital said, “The government’s signal to ease the distance may encourage people to be lax in quarantine. There is,” he emphasized.
Reporter Yuni Kim yunik@donga.com
Reporter Lee Ji-yoon leemail@donga.com
Incheon = Reporter Hwang Geum-cheon kchwang@donga.com
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