This Month's Industry Trends at a Glance (July 2019)
Japan boycott hits travel hard
On July 4, Japan imposed export restrictions on Korea. Some Japanese media floated the idea of tightening visa requirements for Korean travelers. Korea fired back with a nationwide boycott movement targeting Japanese brands, travel — anything Japanese. The goal: hit Japan's economy where it hurts. When Japanese outlets claimed Korea had "never succeeded" with a boycott, the movement only intensified.
Korean travelers are canceling Japan trips en masse. Social media is flooded with cancellation receipts. Actor Lee Si-eon was publicly shamed for taking a trip to Japan after a friend invited him. Korea sends over 7 million tourists to Japan annually — an absolutely dominant share of Japan's inbound market. With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on the horizon and Japan aiming to attract 40 million foreign visitors, losing Korean travelers would be a massive blow.
But the boycott isn't a one-sided story. It's tangled up in multiple industries. It's not just Japan's economy that takes a hit when Koreans skip Japan trips. Korea's outbound travel market is heavily Japan-dependent. Domestic LCCs, travel agencies, Korean-run guesthouses in Japan — they're all feeling it. LCCs had aggressively expanded short-haul Japan routes (no traffic rights restrictions), so if this drags on, the damage will be real.
The silver lining? Domestic travel could surge. As flights to Japan, Taiwan, and China got cheaper, more Koreans traveled abroad than stayed home. Now, with Japan off the table, some of that demand could redirect domestically. Travel and hospitality companies are already pivoting — launching domestic packages and promotions to capture the summer high season crowd.
If your property is in Korea, lean into this moment. Tailor your marketing to the domestic travel surge. If you run a place in Japan, pivot to travelers who've already bought non-refundable tickets. Korean-run properties are getting more attention from Korean travelers reluctant to support Japanese-owned businesses. How long will this last? No one knows. But the time to act is now.
[Travel News, 2019.07.08, "Japan Travel Boycott Gaining Serious Momentum"]
Friday departures are on the rise
It's been a year since Korea's 52-hour workweek law took effect in July 2018. The reform slashed maximum weekly hours from 68 to 52 — a 16-hour cut. As work-life balance culture spread ("work-life balance," "evenings that exist"), more people started taking off Friday afternoon for weekend trips.
According to Yeogi Eottae, Friday bookings jumped 54% year-over-year — far outpacing other weekdays, which grew in the 30% range. In a survey on post-reform changes, 35.5% of respondents said they travel more often now. Friday-to-Sunday trips and Friday check-ins with extended stays saw the biggest spikes. Trips are also getting longer, boosting long-distance domestic travel. Bookings for Jeollanam-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, and Jeju (from Seoul/metro area) were up over 60% year-over-year. The 52-hour week is directly driving Friday travel and domestic accommodation bookings.
It's not just travel. With earlier weekday evenings, more people are booking activities — VR, escape rooms, themed cafés, indoor sports. Weekday activity bookings grew 23% month-over-month on average, and the number of small-to-midsize activity listings jumped 2.5x.
With more people traveling Friday night and filling weekday evenings with activities, consider adapting your property. Late check-in and late check-out policies could appeal to guests arriving late or staying out after hours. Stay sharp on these trends — and watch your occupancy climb.
[Financial News, 2019.07.09, "One Year of 52-Hour Workweek: Friday Departures Up 1.5x"]
Hotels are evolving. Time to pay attention.
Luxury and mid-tier hotels are transforming their spaces beyond just lodging. They're becoming cultural and experiential destinations — and guests are showing up.
JW Marriott Seoul partnered with EDC Korea (an EDM festival) to offer ticket-and-stay packages. Grand Hilton Seoul recreated Germany's Oktoberfest — one of the world's top three festivals — with an early-bird promotion. Ramada Plaza Jeju turned its Chinese restaurant into an art gallery café called "Art Dining," offering cultural content to locals and travelers alike.
Staycation ("ho-cance") packages, price cuts, boutique pivots, residence-style offerings — hotels are experimenting across the board to match current trends. The effort is paying off. Hotel booking share hovered below 16% in 2016 but jumped to 22% by H2 2018.
Non-hotel accommodations should take note. While your property stayed static, others adapted — and started capturing demand. Sure, budgets and scale vary. But the market is moving, and if you don't move with it, you'll get left behind. Travel has shifted from nature and activities to food and relaxation. What does that mean for your property? Think hard. Then act.
[Travel Bike News, 2019.07.09, "Evolution of Luxury Hotels: From Lodging to Experience"]
Government ignores home-sharing. Airbnb keeps growing.
Airbnb generated roughly $100 billion (₩110 trillion) in global economic impact in 2018. According to a survey of 230,000 hosts and guests worldwide, Airbnb's economic impact in Korea alone reached ₩1.37 trillion, with 2.94 million total visitors.
Korea ranked 16th globally — impressive considering the platform is limited to foreign guests and rural/designated areas for domestic users. Compare that to Japan, which ranks 6th with ₩4.08 trillion in impact and no comparable restrictions on domestic use. Outside Singapore, Korea has the strictest home-sharing regulations in Asia, making this result all the more significant.
The government's June "Service Industry Innovation Strategy" conspicuously omitted any mention of ride-sharing, accommodation-sharing, or telemedicine — the sectors where sharing economy tensions run highest. A tourism law amendment has been stuck in the National Assembly for nearly three years. Since the January "Sharing Economy Activation Plan," there's been zero follow-through.
Global service economies revolve around sharing. Korea's strategy doesn't seem to acknowledge that reality.
As the sharing economy grows worldwide, we're still waiting to see where the government stands.
[Korea Economic Daily, 2019.07.07, "Airbnb's $100B Economic Impact in 2018"]
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