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| gettyimagesbank |
By Lee Min-hyung
Lee Jin-seok, a 35-year-old office worker, increased his spending on trips after the government lifted the outdoor mask mandate in January.
He plans to increase the frequency of trips not just in Korea, but also to neighboring countries despite the cost burden. Lee said he will continue traveling abroad, because the COVID-19 pandemic prevented him from doing so for the past three years.
"I enjoy vising other regions during the weekends, but have not been able to do so frequently due to the pandemic," he said. "I have plans to visit other cities at least twice a month until the end of this year."
Another office worker surnamed Choi also shared her plans to embark on an overseas trip this summer for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020.
"I will visit Hungary sometime between July and August despite surging airfares and spend what I can there, as this is my first overseas trip in almost three years," Choi said.
Recent credit and debit card data showed that a growing number of people are spending more than they routinely spent before the pandemic. Total card spending here reached 87.5 trillion won ($66.3 billion) in February, up 13 percent from a year ago. The number of card transactions also jumped by 15.8 percent to 200 million during the same period, data from the Credit Finance Association showed.
But of particular note is a surge in spending on transportation. Card transactions in for public transportation, taxis and flights came in at 1.47 trillion won, up 129.2 percent in February from a year earlier.
Spending on accommodation and restaurants also rose 48.7 percent during the same period to 11.61 trillion won.
The data indicates people have been spending more on travel since Korea scrapped its indoor mask mandate. In all likelihood, the figure will continue to grow over the next few months, with the arrival of spring and people engaging in more outdoor activities.
More companies have been instructing their employees to return to working on-site as pandemic restrictions have been done away with, which is forecast to increase overall spending by office workers.
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