The slow travel trend is for people who prefer to travel in a relaxing and laid-back style. Slow travelers like to choose their own destinations and explore at their own pace rather than following package tours, and prefer down-season jaunts in domestic locations.

In a survey of 1,565 shoppers at Lotte Department Store's eight branches in Seoul, 597 of respondents or 38.1 percent said they plan to go on vacation in the off-season like autumn. Of those, 341 or 20.1 percent went on vacation in autumn last year.

Although 753 respondents or 48.1 percent said they planned to vacation this summer, the preference for summer trips has declined since a survey last year found that 1,073 or 68.6 percent of respondents said would take a summer vacation.

More people said they prefer domestic tourist attractions to overseas ones. Some 425 respondents or 27.2 percent said they vacationed overseas last year, but only 361 or 23.1 percent plan to go overseas this year.

Meanwhile the number of people who are planning domestic trips increased from 989 or 63.2 percent last year to 1,075 or 68.7 percent this year.

The survey also found that fewer people are choosing package tours. Some 34 percent took package tours last year but that figured dropped to 25 percent this year.

The number of people who like free-touring in which they decide where and when to go increased from 52.1 percent to 60.2 percent year-on-year.

(englishnews@chosun.com )