Japanese ”small city trips” are popular... Korean tourists ”want to go to Matsuyama”

The results of a survey conducted by the Korean magazine Yogiotte on the topic of "Traveling to Small Cities in Japan" revealed that approximately 85% of Korean respondents are planning to travel to small cities within the next year.
97.6% of respondents said they had no plans to travel to a small city, but that they would like to do so. The most common reason for preferring small city travel was curiosity about local travel. 68.6% of respondents
Most answered, "I want to experience the sights and food that are unique to small cities," followed by "a quiet trip" (58.7%) and "I've already been to Tokyo, Osaka, etc." (20.3%).
The most popular small city in Japan was Matsuyama (38.4%), followed by Oita (30.5%) and Shizuoka (29.5%). These areas are served by low-cost carriers (LCCs) and have many access points.
In fact, the number of hotel reservations in Matsuyama in the first half of this year increased dramatically by more than seven times compared to the same period last year.
The number of visitors to Japan also increased by about five times and more than double, respectively. In addition to these, it was found that many other travel destinations such as Miyakojima and Hiroshima are also attracting interest.
Kim YeonKoung, brand manager of Yogiotte, said,
"We found that new trends in travel to Japan are emerging in the center of the country," the report said, adding, "We need to pay attention to the popularity of new cities, not just classic travel destinations such as Osaka and Fukuoka."