A limited-edition tote bag from an overseas supermarket, a morning run through a city park and a night at a local jazz bar may reveal more about how Koreans plan to travel next year than the price of their plane tickets.
Korean travelers are not planning to cut back in 2027. They are becoming more deliberate about how they spend their money, according to Skyscanner’s Travel Trends 2027 report, unveiled Wednesday at Cotton Club, a jazz club in Yongsan, Seoul.
In the travel app’s survey of 1,000 Korean travelers, 80 percent said they plan to travel as much as or more than they did this year. Seventy-three percent said they will spend the same or more on flights, and 68 percent said the same about accommodations.
Skyscanner calls next year’s overarching theme “Travel, Better Spent.”
“If 2026 was about travel focused on the self, 2027 will be about spending properly. It’s not simply about looking for the cheapest option. It’s about deciding which experiences to invest more in and where to cut back and spend sensibly,” said Jessica Min, a travel expert who has spent 10 years at Skyscanner.
The company identified seven trends behind that shift.
“Pilgra-merch” describes travelers planning trips around souvenirs sold only in a specific place. Sixty-one percent of respondents said they had recently visited a destination or store to buy a product available only there. Min said the trend, led by Generation Z and millennials, ranges from lining up for Trader Joe’s tote bags to collecting goods from favorite luxury hotels.
“Gym-cation” reflects travelers keeping up workout routines on the road. Thirty-one percent of respondents said they would choose accommodations based on fitness facilities. Seoul ranked among the cities with the highest global search volume for Skyscanner’s health club filter.
Under “currency chasers,” 54 percent said they had changed destinations to take advantage of favorable exchange rates. Min said Korean travel to Japan continues to grow on the weak yen, with travelers increasingly heading to smaller cities.
“Signal severance” involves stepping away from phones and laptops to focus on nature and local culture. Thirty-five percent of respondents said they minimize or cut off device use on trips. Min pointed to Hakodate and Omitama in Japan and Guilin, China, as rising destinations for the trend.
“Many people have been to Sapporo. Now I’d recommend Hakodate, a small city in Hokkaido, to enjoy its quiet atmosphere and different seafood and to get some real rest,” she said.
The jazz club venue was chosen with the “sound bound” trend in mind. Twenty-four percent of respondents said they want to experience music at a distinctive local venue. Min added that when K-pop idols hold concerts in major US cities, Skyscanner searches for those cities rise between fourfold and 19-fold.
“Multi-mooning” reflects changing attitudes toward marriage. Thirty-one percent said they had taken or would consider multiple “mini honeymoons,” from a short trip right after the wedding to anniversary trips years later.
The “grand odysseys” trend centers on historical sites and narratives, with respondents citing historic architecture (44 percent) and historical figures (35 percent) as inspiration. Min said this summer’s film “The Odyssey” boosted interest in Sicily, Italy, as well as Turkey.
Hakodate topped Skyscanner’s list of rising destinations for Korean travelers, with round-trip flight searches from Korea for travel this year up 443 percent between Jan. 1 and June 17 from the same period in 2025. Luxembourg (312 percent) and Quy Nhon in Vietnam (274 percent) followed.
Korean travelers are also turning to artificial intelligence. Sixty-one percent said they feel confident using AI to plan and book trips, mainly to compare options and prices or build itineraries. Only 8 percent said they would not use AI for 2027 travel plans, compared with a global average of 22 percent.
Asked how Skyscanner will stay competitive as AI reshapes search, Min said every brand is grappling with the question.
“We have specialized, proprietary data that is hard to find elsewhere. We are thinking about how to bring that expertise into AI,” she said.
yoohong@heraldcorp.com