일본 항공권 매출 전년比 38% 감소... '보이콧 재팬' 확산

South Koreans are boycotting Japanese products because of the ongoing Seoul-Tokyo trade spat.
And now the boycott seems to have spread to the local aviation industry,... as fewer Japan flights were booked this July compared to a year earlier.
Our Choi Si-young tells us more.
According to data released Tuesday by e-commerce company eBay Korea, total sales of flights between South Korea and Japan during the month of this July are down 38 percent on year.
During the same period, flights between South Korea and other countries increased by an average of 23 percent.
One of the reasons for the decline in sales of flights to Japan is the growing boycott by South Koreans of Japanese goods, prompted by the two countries' trade row.
"We originally planned to go to Hokkaido, Japan, but because of the trade row between the two countries and the boycott of Japanese goods, we decided to go to Kota Kinabalu instead."
"Unless the situation between the two countries improves, I don't plan to visit Japan."
On Monday, Korean Air, the country's flagship carrier, announced that it will suspend flights from Busan to the Japanese city Sapporo starting September 3rd.
There's been no official announcement of when or whether the route will be restarted.
Korean Air is also considering slashing other routes to Japan or switching to smaller aircraft from mid-August.
South Korea's low-cost carriers have already suspended or reduced their flights to Japan.
Last week, local low-cost carrier T'way Air stopped service between Muan and Oita.
Another local budget carrier, Air Busan, will stop flights between Daegu and Osaka from September, while Eastar Jet is suspending flights between Busan and Osaka around the same time.
"Industry insiders say that, while the air carriers were planning to cut down on some flights to Japan anyway because they were not profitable, the airlines are also taking into account the boycott of Japanese products by South Koreans. Choi Si-young, Arirang News, Incheon."