[Yonhap]
[Yonhap]

With the summer holiday season approaching, travelers face a mounting financial squeeze as airfares, accommodation rates and tourist attraction fees all climb together. A combination of a weak won, peak-season demand and price increases at domestic and overseas destinations is expected to push vacation costs well above last year's levels.

The rise in travel prices is most visible in airfares.

According to the Ministry of Statistics' consumer price trends report for June, released Sunday, international airfares rose 28.2 percent year-on-year last month, while the cost of overseas package tours climbed 24.3 percent. Both figures were slightly lower than in May — when international airfares rose 33.0 percent and package tour costs rose 26.3 percent — but remain elevated.

Lee Du-won, the ministry's director of economic trend statistics, said fuel surcharges are likely to ease in July as global oil prices fall, but warned that service fees during the summer peak season could rise further.

The exchange rate is adding to the burden. The average won-dollar rate in the second quarter came in at 1,501.6 won, the first time the quarterly average has exceeded 1,500 won since the first quarter of 1998 — during the Asian financial crisis — when it stood at 1,596.8 won.

Japan, the most popular overseas destination for Korean travelers, is also becoming more expensive.

Local governments across Japan have been raising accommodation taxes in response to surging tourist numbers. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has decided to replace its flat-rate lodging tax with a rate-based system charging 3 percent of the room price.

Kyoto raised the ceiling on its lodging tax from a maximum of 1,000 yen ($62) to 10,000 yen starting in March. The number of Japanese local governments that have introduced lodging taxes has also grown sharply, from 17 at the end of last year to 62 now.

For travelers, the simultaneous rise in airfares and accommodation costs is making the financial hit feel even heavier. A rough estimate for two adults on a four-day, three-night trip to Japan puts flights and accommodation alone at around 2 million won, with total expenses — including meals, transport and shopping — frequently exceeding 3 million won.

Domestic travel destinations have not been spared from rising accommodation costs either.

Hotel data from Trip.com shows the average nightly rate in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, climbed from 243,000 won last month to 297,000 won this month. Busan saw rates rise from 222,000 won to 243,000 won over the same period.

An official in the accommodation industry said higher peak-season staffing costs for laundry and cleaning make price increases unavoidable, but added that growing consumer resistance means booking rates are rising more slowly than in previous summers.

Admission fees at tourist attractions are also joining the upward trend.

Sono, South Korea's largest hotel and resort operator, will raise water park admission prices starting Saturday. At Ocean Adventure in Cheonan, adult weekend tickets will cost 79,000 won and children's tickets 69,000 won through Aug. 17 — increases of 5 percent and 15 percent, respectively, from last year.

Lotte World earlier raised its all-day pass for adults to 67,000 won, a 4.7 percent increase.

The higher travel costs are translating directly into consumer anxiety.

A survey by research firm PMI found that 45.7 percent of respondents said this summer's vacation costs felt burdensome, the largest share. Another 41.3 percent said costs were manageable, while 13.0 percent said they felt no financial pressure.

Peak-season accommodation price hikes were cited as the biggest driver of the burden by 53.4 percent of respondents, followed by economic uncertainty at 19.7 percent, soaring airfares due to higher fuel surcharges at 16.2 percent, and the rise in the won-dollar exchange rate at 9.4 percent.

Industry insiders say further price increases in travel-related costs cannot be ruled out as the peak summer travel season gets fully underway in July and August. Experts advise consumers planning peak-season trips to spread out their itineraries and stagger booking dates, as airfares and accommodation prices can vary significantly depending on when reservations are made.


rainbow@heraldcorp.com