More tourists are choosing to cut travel expenses by taking ferries when visiting Jeju Island due to the soaring prices of flight tickets and car rentals this season. According to the Jeju Tourism Association (JTA), over 480,000 people have visited the island by ferry so far this year.
The figure constitutes 5.7% of the 8.58 million domestic travelers that have visited the island in 2022 so far.
The number of visitors taking ferries to the island has gone up 1% from last month, when it was 4.7%, with 348,000 people as of mid-July.
The rising costs of airfare and car rental services have led more travelers to take their own vehicles and travel by ferry. Two of the most chosen ones are the 27,000-ton ferry “Beyond Trust” plying the route between Incheon and Jeju, and the 3,500-ton “Santa Monica” sailing between the southeastern city of Mokpo and the island, both of which reinitiated service in May.