By Aisylu Akhmetzianova
Japanese women of "Generation Z," born between the mid-90s and the early 2000s, picked Korea as the travel destination they want to visit the most.
The Japan Tourism Agency announced on Feb. 15 the result of an online survey conducted from Jan. 11-12 targeting 400 men and women in the 19-25 age range, which asked about their attitude toward overseas travel.
In the "most-wanted travel destination of the year" category, Korea ranked No. 1 with 36.5% of the votes from female survey participants; while 30% of men preferred Hawaii, putting the western-most state of the U.S. on top of the chart. Among female respondents, France was the runner-up with 33.5%, followed by Italy at 30.5%. France also ranked second for male participants with 26%, while Taiwan came third with 22%.
Some 70.3% of the respondents said security was the most important factor when choosing an overseas travel destination. Travel expenses, food, tourist attractions and prices came after, with 59.5%, 46.8%, 35.5% and 31.8%, respectively.
Japanese media Netorabo said that Generation Z women prefer to visit Korea the most because it takes only two hours by direct flight, adding, "Recently, along with historic sites and gourmet food, Korean cosmetics have also gained popularity with their good quality and reasonable prices."
