October departures from Korea to Southeast Asia dropped 7.25 percent overall, with Cambodia down 15.4 percent
(The Korean Herald) – Korean travelers are pulling back from Southeast Asia amid growing reports of scams and kidnappings in Cambodia.
In October, the number of travelers flying from South Korea to Southeast Asian countries dropped sharply, with Cambodia seeing the steepest fall. According to passenger statistics released Sunday by Incheon International Airport Corporation, departures to Southeast Asia declined by 7.25 percent from the previous month (to 784,962 travelers).
Cambodia alone saw a 15.4 percent drop, from 13,727 in September to 11,613 in October.
The sudden pullback follows a wave of disturbing reports last month exposing how young 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 Korean visitors in October, with departures down 18.9 percent (to 120,175) and 5 percent (to 157,402) respectively. These figures stand out particularly because overall international passenger traffic at Incheon Airport actually rose 3.1 percent that month, reaching more than 6.39 million.
Travel agencies are already seeing shifts in consumer behavior. “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 travelers, especially business and solo leisure travelers. That’s 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 percent of Korean respondents said recent crimes in Cambodia had influenced their view of travel to Southeast Asia. Among people in their 20s, that figure rose to 88.3 percent.
The same survey found that 56 percent believed South Korea’s Foreign Ministry had mishandled the initial response to the crisis.
