Reset Travel: Koreans Choosing Restful Stays Over Sightseeing
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
Many South Koreans are prioritizing recovery-focused trips called "reset travel," choosing longer stays and wellness-centered accommodations over busy sightseeing. After widespread burnout, travelers favor minimal movement, spending more time at hotels or resorts that offer hot springs, saunas, meditation, art-wellness programs, and book-themed stays (북스테이). Korea Tourism Organization named "reset travel" the theme for the year, emphasizing sleep, self-care, and sensory recalibration in nature. Data show 44% of Korean travelers pick destinations based on lodging, and unique-stay bookings rose 60% globally. Gangwon Province, with accessible nature, hot springs, and mountain-sea options, is especially popular; reservations at major hotels and resorts there grew significantly this January-February. Travel firms note increased demand for winter healing trips combining saunas and nearby onsen-like hot springs (온천).
