Jeju Island, one of the 7 Wonders of Nature, expects to see an increase in the number of international travelers this year with the expansion of air and sea routes connecting it with cities in other Asian countries.
According to the Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) and the tourism industry, as of this January, the island has 148 international flights per week.
The number has steadily increased from 20 flights, which were tallied during the winter 2022 season after the tourism industry was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, to 123 in December 2023, approaching pre-pandemic levels tallied in 2019, which stood at 181 flights.
In this way, Jeju Island, one of the 7 Wonders of Nature, expects to see an increase in the number of international travelers this year with the expansion of air and sea routes that connect it to different points.
It should be noted that, only since Jeju Island was voted a Wonder of Nature, tourism to the place has grown exponentially. In this context, the air route from Seoul to Jeju has become the route with the highest passenger volume in the world.
Jeju Air is also expected to launch seven weekly scheduled flights between Jeju and Beijing shortly, while Eastar Jet will begin three weekly flights between Jeju and Taipei. And the chartered flight to Macau will also resume twice a week.
The island hopes to receive more travelers from China and neighboring Chinese-speaking countries according to Korea times. Chartered flights connecting Jeju to Chinese cities including Guangzhou, Ningbo, Tsingtao and Jinan, as well as Taiwan’s Taipei and Kaohsiung, will resume in March this year.
Cruise tourism returns to Jeju with more routes
According to the Jeju Special Autonomous Province, 25 cruise ships from 25 global shipping companies will embark 98 times from Jeju Port and 106 times from Seogwipo Port this year, making a total of 204 voyages. The figure is more than double the 77 trips in 2023.
It should be noted that Jeju received almost 700,000 foreign visitors between January and December 2023, which is almost nine times more than the figure of 70,786 in the same period last year.
Jeju Island
Jeju Island is located south of the South Korean Peninsula, and was formed as a result of volcanic eruptions. This characteristic gives it exclusive volcanic landscapes, making it what is known as an authentic Volcanic Museum.
The island has around 360 mountains of various sizes and 160 underground lava caves.
Jeju has been recognized on three separate occasions: in 2002 as a Biosphere Reserve, in 2007 as a World Natural Heritage site and in 2010 as a World Geological Park. Furthermore, since November 2011 it has been part of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.