Package tours abroad are selling fast with Chuseok or Korean Thanksgiving less than a month away, and many people who have been unable to travel abroad or have a summer holiday are going on longer overseas trips.

Online shopping mall G Market on Wednesday said as of Aug. 31 it had some 650 bookings for international travel for Sept. 18-26 including Chuseok, up 32 percent from last year's holiday. The number of bookings for the United States and Europe is 12 times greater than last year.

Overseas travel during this year's Chuseok holiday is likely to reach an all-time high, shattering the record set in 2007. At travel agency Hana Tour, some 45,000 people have reserved overseas travel packages for this year's holiday, up 73 percent from 2007.

Mode Tour said the proportion of package tours to China, Japan and Southeast Asia is the same as in 2007, but those for the U.S. and Europe increased from 1.8 percent to 4 percent, and 5.2 percent to 8.1 percent.

Yang Seung-jae of G Market said the economic recovery and a stronger won against the U.S. dollar and euro seem to have contributed to the trend.