코로나19 피해서 전국 캠핑장으로 방문객 몰려
With COVID-19 limiting people’s options for summer vacation, many are seeking to spend their summer at camp sites instead. Our Choi Won-jong visited one camping site near Suwon to check it out for himself.
The excitement of putting up tents and cooking outside with family and friends…is something that many people in South Korea are longing to do during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In fact, some families say, going camping has been an alternative way to spend time together this summer.
"We couldn’t go far because of COVID-19. There’s a camping site near our house, so we decided to come as our family trip. It feels nice to come out again.
Many people are visiting camping sites to take a short break from their busy schedules. However, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, quarantine guidelines are in place at the sites.
Before entering the camp site, all visitors are required to get their body temperatures checked.
Then, campers are asked to provide personal identification information such as their names and phone numbers for tracing purposes.
To keep all areas safe, facility workers frequently clean touched surfaces such as kitchens, tables, and toilets.
"The income of our camping site increased by more than 33-thousand U.S. dollars. Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of visitors has surged nearly 40-percent compared to the previous year.
According to data collected by ThankQ Camping, a company which largely offers online reservation services, up to 11-thousand people made reservations during the second week in July in 2019. But over 17-thousand places were booked during the same period of the month this year - a more than 53% jump.
In addition, Camping First, an online camping equipment store, said that demand has increased more than 30% compared to the previous year.
Choi Won-jong, Arirang News
