Holiday Traffic Update--Korea and East Asia

One of my clients recently was scheduled to travel to Asia. My reaction was " I hope it's not the first week of October "
With the Chusok holiday nearing, travel in East Asia is greatly impacted. Also the Chinese celebrate the holiday, adding to demands of regional travel.

Please Note: In Korea, Saturday Sept. 30 and Tuesday Oct. 3 are the busiest days for outgoing passengers, and Sunday Oct. 8 is the busiest for incoming travelers. For Overseas travelers to Korea, double check your time and day changes....to avoid these heavy travel days.

Korean media sources cite...
During the coming Chusok, or Korean Thanksgiving holiday, more and more South Koreans are heading overseas. Some could stretch their holidays to nine days leave if Kaechonjol, or National Foundation Day, and some annual vacation days are also taken.

The national airlines said yesterday that about 57,000 passengers will go abroad on Oct. 3. Some 51,000 on the following day, 40,000 on Oct. 5 and 27,000 on Oct. 6 are scheduled to leave.

Flights to famous tourist spots such as Bangkok, Phuket, Saipan and Sydney have been either fully booked or almost so.

As of Sept. 22, Korean Air saw a 94 percent reservation rate on China routes, while flights to Beijing showed a 97 percent booking rate. Flights to Sydney have been almost booked, while those to Bangkok, the city under military government, have a 97 percent booking rate, and most of flights to South East Asia have a high reservation rate during the holidays.

Reservation rates to Europe, Japan, the U.S. and the Middle East also have surpassed 80 percent.

For Asiana Airlines, reservations are already full on routes to Hong Kong, Saipan, Bangkok and Puket, and tickets to Sydney, London and Frankfurt are not available for long Chusok holidays.

To meet holiday demands from travelers, the carrier arranged extra flights _ 18 to Japan, 12 to China and six to Phuket.

Additionally, 34,000 travelers are likely to return on Oct. 5, 40,000 on Oct. 6, 52,000 on Oct. 7 and 54,000 on Oct. 8.

As for ground transportation that another issue... trains and roads will see very high levels of traffic.