punchkorea.com) January 5th 2025

News

'200% compensation if not lowest price' Travel agency appears to compensate for difference in overseas airfare

The '200% Lowest Airline Ticket Price Compensation System', which will be implemented until January 19th of 2025, is a system that compensates for double the difference in i-points that can be used within Interpark Tour if the price of an overseas airline ticket purchased through Interpark Tour is not the lowest price compared to the same conditions of other companies. Customers who provide proof of a cheaper airline ticket with the same conditions from another company will receive 200% of the difference in i-points. Related proof images can be submitted through a 1:1 inquiry to the customer center within 7 days of the airline ticket purchase date.

Yanolja launches NOL Universe after merging OTA platforms

Yanolja has launched NOL Universe, a mega online travel platform combining its subsidiaries Yanolja Platform and InterparkTriple, offering integrated services like travel bookings, lifestyle experiences, and AI-powered solutions to compete globally.

Overseas travel reservation rate for next year's Lunar New Year Golden Week increases by 55%... Vietnam ranks first

According to Modoo Tour on the 23rd, the reservation rate for travel products departing during the Lunar New Year holiday period (January 25-28) next year has increased by 55% compared to the same period last year as of the 23rd (34 days before). By region, it is Southeast Asia at 39%, Japan at 20%, China at 17%, and America & South Asia/Europe at 10%. Short-distance regions are strong, accounting for 76% of the total. In particular, Vietnam (21%) was selected as the most popular travel destination, narrowly beating out Japan.

Timep's loss was written off, but it was refunded... Travel industry 'suffering'

In the case of Hana Tour (039130), the number one company in the actual travel industry, operating profit decreased by 10% compared to the same period last year due to the 6.3 billion won in unsettled amounts due to the T-Map incident in the second quarter. This is a sharp 83% drop compared to the first quarter.

Here, Koreans' travel bucket list for next year: Japan, Vietnam, Europe, etc.

Here and There conducted a survey on next year's overseas travel destination bucket list, and the number one choice for travelers' overseas travel destination bucket list next year was 'Japan (36.3%)'. Japan is already a travel destination that many travelers are looking for, and it is expected to continue its popularity next year. After Japan, the next destinations that people want to travel to next year were 'Europe (24.7%)' and 'Vietnam (21.5%)'.

All travel indicators cool... Travel ice age concerns likely to grow

A downward trend in everything from travel experience and plans to spending, spending intentions, and duration.
Interest in all travel destinations has plummeted... It seems to be a combination of seasonal and economic factors.
Travel experience rate is stuck in the box at the pre-COVID-19 level of 80%, and both plans and spending are shrinking... People are flocking only to nearby and low-cost Asia.
If the recent rise in the exchange rate is fully reflected, there is a high possibility of additional cooling.

‘Domestic vs. overseas’, ‘Snow festival vs. resort’ Where do you want to go for winter vacation?

According to the Korea Tourism Statistics on the 27th, the number of tourists who went abroad from Korea last year was greater in the winter (December to February) than in the summer (June to August). Specifically, the number of tourists going abroad in the summer was about 6.02 million, while the number of tourists going abroad in the winter was about 7.7 million.

[Planning] From exchange rate burden to airline accident aftermath… Overseas travel reservation demand ↓

According to a domestic travel agency, the number of new online overseas travel product reservations in early December, when the 12/3 martial law took place, decreased by more than 50% compared to the same period last year. The travel agency explained that when including business-to-business (B2B) products and offline store sales products, the total number of reservations decreased by about 30%.

Korea Tourism Organization, November 2024 Korea Tourism Statistics Announced

Next, the number of Korean tourists traveling abroad in November was 2,391,140, a 16.0% increase compared to the same month last year (2,061,646).

The number of Korean tourists visiting overseas in November was 2.39 million, a 14.4% increase from the same month in 2019. The number of Korean tourists visiting overseas from January to November was 25.97 million, recovering to 98% of the same period in 2019.

Fierce competition for overseas payment share... Hana and Hyundai in hot pursuit of Shinhan Card

Hana Card, which had been in the middle and lower ranks, jumped to the upper ranks thanks to the popularity of Travel Blog. Hana's 'Travel Blog' was launched in July 2022 and has established itself as an 'essential item for overseas travel' with optimized benefits for travelers, such as exemption of payment fees and exemption of overseas ATM fees, and the number of subscribers exceeded 7 million this month. In particular, the amount of check card usage overseas more than doubled compared to the same period last year, reaching KRW 2.2533 trillion as of the end of November this year.