BOYCOTTING TRAVELS TO JAPAN

[Anchor Lead]

Boycott of Japanese products is spreading like wildfire in Korea as Japan's export restrictions remain in place. Now Koreans are opting to stay away from Japan as the summer vacation season begins, causing the number of new trip reservations to fall by half. Some Koreans are even cancelling their confirmed flights and tour packages to Japan.

[Pkg]

More than seven million Korean tourists visited Japan last year. It was the most visited overseas travel destination for Koreans, but that has changed now.

[Soundbite] KIM GWANG-JIN·KIM SEONG-WON(SEOUL RESIDENTS) : "We cancelled our trip to Osaka. It doesn't seem right for a Korean to travel to Japan under this circumstance."

Cancellations of travel plans to Japan spiked since Tokyo imposed export curbs against Seoul. Local travel agencies report that one out of four tour packages to Japan was refunded. Moreover, the number of new reservations has plummeted. The top two local travel agencies showed that reservations for their tour programs to Japan were more than halved since the export measure was put in place.

[Soundbite] (TRAVEL AGENCY EMPLOYEE(VOICE MODIFIED)) : "Significant blows are expected for the travel industry and this situation is likely to continue for now."

The situation is not much different for the aviation industry. Cancellation of confirmed airline tickets are still low, but new reservations are expected to fall.

[Soundbite] (AVIATION INDUSTRY EMPLOYEE(VOICE MODIFIED)) : "We're watching how the situation would pan out in September, after the summer peak season is over. Low-cost carriers are reducing flights to Japan and expanding flights to Southeast Asia or China."

Some expressed concerns about the fallout of the boycott. Seoul is clearly against Tokyo's export restrictions, but differing opinions about trips to Japan may cause a rift among Koreans.

[Soundbite] BAE WUN-SIK(GYEONGGI-DO RESIDENT) : "I don't think it is right to divide people up by calling those who don't oppose trips to Japan as pro-Japanese and those who do as patriots."

The travel industry is closely watching the fluctuation in reservations of toursto Japan.