Recently, "Jeju Island", as a popular tourist destination, has frequently appeared on hot searches and social media, why is this island so popular?
At 22:30 on April 3, at Jeju International Airport in South Korea, Xiaoqiu (pseudonym) from Hangzhou landed on a late flight of Spring Airlines. It is understood that on April 3, 10 planes from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai landed on Jeju Island, considering that April 3 is still a working day, many "workers" like Xiaoqiu will choose flights after 18 o'clock to Jeju Island.
This time she and several sisters came to Jeju Island to travel, she has been to a lot of distant doors, but this time she is a little busy, "I am a little excited, I have been thinking about whether I have enough cash before I landed, whether to change points later, how to get to the hotel after leaving the terminal." After hurriedly greeting the Chao News reporter, Xiaoqiu integrated into the large army that entered the customs.
Image source: Sina Weibo
Short voyages, visa-free and low prices make Jeju Island's popularity "soar"
When asked why she chose to travel to Jeju Island, Xiaoqiu said: "The same island scenery is closer than going to Sanya, and it is also a trip abroad, which is more convenient than going to Thailand." The Chao News reporter checked the flight time of his flight and showed that the flight time was 1 hour and 16 minutes.
Since 2008, Jeju Island, South Korea, has been visa-free for Chinese citizens. Jeju Island is the largest island in South Korea, with an area of 1,845 square kilometers and a permanent population of 660,000. Formed 1.2 million years ago due to volcanic activity, this island has the highest average temperature and precipitation in Korea, and is known as the "Hawaii of the East".
When entering the customs at Jeju International Airport on the evening of April 3, Chao News reporters noticed that the vast majority of tourists spoke Chinese with different accents, and a small group of tourists spoke Hangzhou dialect and were exchanging the next day's itinerary.
Although it was close to 11:30 p.m. local time after leaving the customs, there was a 100-meter-long queue at the taxi pick-up point, "We arrived at the hotel for more than 2 kilometers, but it was raining heavily, we didn't take cash, we didn't have a bus card, and we pushed a big box, so we could only come to line up for a taxi." Xiaomi (pseudonym), who was waiting in line for a taxi, complained to the Chao News reporter. "KakaoT, the taxi app I ordered in advance, couldn't call a taxi, probably because it was too late and the distance was too close. ”
When checking into the hotel, the Chao News reporter learned that the general hotel has a staff member who can fluent Chinese at the front desk, "The vast majority of tourists who come here to stay are from China." The staff of the Jeju Bolton Hotel told reporters.
Street view of Jeju Island by Lou Chun/photo
According to statistics released by the Jeju Island Tourism Association on April 5, the number of tourists visiting Jeju in the first quarter of this year reached 3.183 million, the same as the same period last year. Among them, the number of South Korean tourists was 2.818 million, a decrease of 9.1% compared with the same period last year, and the number of overseas tourists reached 364,000, a year-on-year surge of 519.5%. The number of tourists to Jeju is expected to continue to grow as shipping and air routes increase. As of April 2, the number of international cruise flights to Jeju Port reached 30, an increase of 40 flights from the previous month. Air routes in Jeju are also increasing.
According to Ctrip data, the number of travel bookings from Zhejiang to Jeju Island during the Ching Ming Festival increased by 10 times compared to last year.
According to Qunar, as of April 4, the search index for air tickets in Jeju Island increased by 40% from the previous week. Judging from the air ticket booking, on the Qunar platform, the Qingming Festival holiday. Popular overseas destinations for Zhejiang people are: Seoul, Osaka, Bangkok, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jeju Island, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta and Phnom Penh. Among them, the popularity of Jeju Island is still unabated after the holiday, and the search volume is the same as before the holiday.
Day trips are popular, and the scenery on the island is susceptible to weather
Due to language, price and other reasons, many mainland tourists who come to Jeju Island will choose to charter a day trip on major platforms. Chao News reporters found through Fliggy search that the price of most one-day tour packages does not include the price of attraction tickets and ferry tickets, and the average price per person is between 150-200 yuan, focusing on cost performance.
The tour route can be roughly divided into the eastern, western and southern routes, with the eastern route focusing on sea views, the western route containing many museums and parks, and the southern route having the popular "teddy bear museum". The Chao News reporter chose a relatively popular eastern route, including scenic spots such as Shidi Kezhi, Niu Island and Chengshan Sunrise Peak.
Jeju Island cherry blossoms "just in time" Lou Chun/photo
"There are many sea views on the east line, and this route can play with different styles of sea views, and many tourists come for the 'jelly sea'. Xiao Jie, who has been a tour guide on Jeju Island for more than 10 years, said. "But because of the climate of Jeju Island, the weather on the island changes very quickly, and sometimes the weather forecast is that it will rain in the next hour, and it is likely to be windy or even sunny. ”
Xiaojie said that a one-day tour + Chinese tour guide product like their company is basically a must option for most Chinese tourists who come to the island to play, "We solve all communication problems, tourists just need to pay attention to safety and take photos with peace of mind." On the day of the Chao News reporter's trip, it was cloudy and a little sunny, and I successfully saw the turquoise "jelly sea".
"Jelly Sea" Lou Chun/photo
Some people expressed some opinions on whether Jeju Island's current hot situation is worth visiting. Huanhuan (pseudonym), who had just traveled to Jeju Island during the Spring Festival, said in an interview with Chao News reporters that he would most likely not go to Jeju Island again, "I think the scenery there is good, but the playability is not very high. ”
Xiaoxue, who has studied in South Korea for many years, mentioned traveling to South Korea, she said: "I haven't been to Jeju Island yet, and I would prefer to go to a Korean city like Busan." Xiaoxue said. "Jeju Island tourism is too affected by the weather. ”
In addition to scenic tours, shopping spots such as Shilla Duty Free and Lotte Duty Free on Jeju Island, as well as Olive Young, a popular Korean health and beauty retail store in recent years, are also popular among tourists. It's not uncommon for tourists to go shopping during the day and catch a flight at the airport at night. At around 4 p.m., the clerk at the Shilla Duty Free Loewe boutique was packing all kinds of goods to be delivered to the duty-free pick-up area of the airport, "There are more than 10 orders to be delivered today, and the duty-free shop will close at 6 o'clock, so we have time to deliver them." Loewe clerk told the Chao News reporter.
Source: Chao News