▲ Beaches have seen record crowds as tourist figures show impressive growth in 2013. Photo by Kang Bong-su

If the roads seem a little more clogged, or the queues a little longer, or the beaches a little more packed, it is because they are. Jeju Island is in the midst of its busiest ever month. The era of 10 million tourists a year looks here to stay.

The latest official figures indicate that Jeju will comfortably reach its target of 10 million as 5,558,108 had visited the island as of July 17 with the busiest period in August yet to come. This is an increase of 6.8 percent on the previous year and represents the best figures on record.

The day of July 17 broke records for the number of foreign tourists reaching Jeju, as 14,675 arrived, a 22 percent increase on the same day in 2012. Jeju should comfortably achieve its target of 2 million foreign tourists for 2013, as by July 31, 1,074,284 had visited, a 35.6 percent increase on 2012, with Chinese tourists up 64.1 percent.

The figures are partly due to the dry weather as a surge in visitors has boosted businesses such as restaurants, guesthouses and traders. Beaches are reporting their busiest season on record.

▲ Red and blue beach umbrellas await tourists at Gwakji Beach, Aewol. Photo by Douglas MacDonald

Explosion in cruise tourism

Growth in the cruise market and increased international flights are also seen as key. Local officials say that 100 ships had already arrived by August, with 200,000 passengers, already eclipsing the figures for the whole of 2012.

This will read well for tour officials, who predicted records would be smashed in 2013 as 150 trips were scheduled and an estimated 300 thousand tourists were expected to arrive, more than doubling the 2012 figures.

The high numbers look like becoming the new normal for the Jeju tour industry as officials predict that by 2015, 1 million international travelers will come to Jeju by cruise ship, with the Chinese market again targeted.

Tour officials are chalking the numbers down as a success after a busy period themselves. James Shin of Jeju Tourism Organization feels the impressive figures vindicate the JTO’s marketing efforts over the last few months.

“Thanks to the cruise market being promoted by JTO, the number of Chinese tourists greatly increased compared to last year. We also saw increases in Southeast Asian tourists, and that is seen as a competitive market in the future,” said Shin.

Shin also noted the success of growth areas, such as special interest tourism and the increase in FIT (Free Independent Travelers). Golf is well established on Jeju, but it too has begun to improve its performance after slowing in recent years.

“Golf tourists used to be mostly Japanese and although they are still our second biggest market, we still expect over 600 Chinese golfers in the second half of the year,” said Shin.

▲ Beach-goers enjoy the evening sun. Photo by Douglas MacDonald

Increase in international flights

Records were already being broken back in April when Jeju hit the 1 million tourist mark for the first time in one calendar month. The Ministry of Transportation then announced that domestic flights were to be increased by 3 percent for main carriers and 16 percent for budget airlines during the high season until October. Seoul to Jeju was already the world’s busiest airline route.

International flights have also reached record numbers and 50 routes are flying this high season, an increase of 12 compared to August 2012 if charter flights are counted alongside regular routes.

44 Chinese routes include Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Hong Kong, while Tokyo and Osaka are among four Japanese cities connected and Taipei and Kaohsiung are the two destinations in Taiwan.

This means boomtime for local tourist-related businesses. Kim Chung Hee, owner of Backpackers Guesthouse near Jeju City Hall, says he has noticed the upsurge.

“More foreign travelers are definitely coming to Jeju. We had more Europeans last year, but the number of Chinese and Singaporeans and Indonesians is increasing,” he said.

The growth in Jeju’s popularity as a tour destination will be a boon for local officials and businesses, but tourists say Jeju has far to go before it is on a par with other international destinations.

Some international tourists and guesthouses have complained of unfriendly attitudes toward foreign tourists and poor language facilities, while also bemoaning difficulties in traveling on the island. As Jeju moves forward into the post-10-million tourist era, these are areas that officials will look to tackle.