South Korean travel to South-east Asia takes a hit amid Cambodia trafficking crisis
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In a poll conducted on Oct 21, 82.4 per cent of South Korean respondents said recent crimes in Cambodia had influenced their view of travel to South-east Asia.
PHOTO: AFP
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SEOUL – South Korean travellers are pulling back from South-east Asia amid growing reports of scams and kidnappings in Cambodia.
In October, the number of travellers flying from South Korea to South-east Asian countries dropped sharply, with Cambodia seeing the steepest fall.
According to passenger statistics released on Nov 16 by Incheon International Airport Corp, departures to South-east Asia declined by 7.25 per cent from the previous month to 784,962 travellers.
Cambodia alone saw a 15.4 per cent drop, from 13,727 in September to 11,613 in October.
The sudden pullback follows a wave of disturbing reports in October exposing how young South Koreans lured by false job offers – mostly in tech or digital marketing – were trafficked into scam compounds in Cambodia’s loosely regulated special economic zones
Once there, victims were allegedly detained, forced to operate online fraud schemes and, in some cases, subjected to violence or sold to other groups.
The impact is spilling beyond Cambodia. The Philippines and Thailand also saw fewer South Korean visitors
These figures stand out particularly because overall international passenger traffic at Incheon Airport actually rose 3.1 per cent that month, reaching more than 6.39 million.
Travel agencies are already seeing shifts in consumer behaviour.
“This isn’t just about group tours being cancelled,” a travel industry official told local media.
“We’re seeing a clear drop in demand from individual travellers, especially business and solo leisure travellers. This is likely to spread to package tour groups by the end of the year.”
Public perception appears to be shifting rapidly. In a Realmeter poll conducted on Oct 21, 82.4 per cent of South Korean respondents said recent crimes in Cambodia had influenced their view of travel to South-east Asia. Among people in their 20s, the figure rose to 88.3 per cent.
The same survey found that 56 per cent believed South Korea’s Foreign Ministry had mishandled the initial response to the crisis. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
