Travel Startup Shifts Focus to 'Guknae Yeohaeng' for Domestic Trips

Growth Based on Overseas Travel Packages... Changing Target Markets Due to COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Travel tech startups operating travel platforms are gradually returning to the domestic market. Although they primarily grew based on overseas travel products, the sharp decline in outbound travelers due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led them to shift their main target to the domestic travel market. While this is a self-help measure to navigate the COVID-19 situation, there is considerable expectation that the innovation of these startups will bring new changes to the domestic travel market.

According to the industry on the 2nd, 'MyRealTrip,' a travel product brokerage platform, recently launched domestic golf travel products. Partnering with booking specialists such as Giant Golf, they introduced products that allow customers to enjoy golf for two days, including accommodation, at famous golf resorts nationwide. This strategy is based on the fact that golf, a representative outdoor leisure sport, has maintained steady popularity despite COVID-19, and that creating easy booking access through a travel product platform can generate a new market domestically. MyRealTrip plans to significantly increase the number of products, which started with about 20. In addition, they will expand products that include hotel reservation services along with access to hotel restaurants, spas, and more. Lee Dong-geon, CEO of MyRealTrip, said, "We will focus on domestic travel services and quickly secure a range of products to offer travelers diverse choices. Based on IT technology, we will analyze users' preferences to recommend optimal products and strive to provide even better experiences."

Another travel platform, 'Triple,' has also shifted its business direction to domestic travel and recently launched a new Jeju service. Although it has grown centered on travel content for over 200 overseas cities, the decline in overseas travel demand due to COVID-19 prompted the full-scale start of domestic travel services. Triple's strategy is to satisfy travelers' diverse tastes by offering various themed Jeju travel content. Features such as itinerary planning by viewing routes directly on a map, checklists, expense tracking, and a lounge for sharing travel information with other users have been applied to Jeju travel. They also provide guide content for safe travel, including COVID-19 prevention guidelines and contact information in case symptoms occur during travel. Kim Yeon-jung, CEO of Triple, said, "We will further expand domestic travel destination services according to travelers' demands and simultaneously work to establish social distancing practices in daily life."

As travel startups focus their competitiveness on domestic products, a new breeze is expected to blow through the related market. MyRealTrip is a comprehensive travel platform connecting over 630 cities in more than 80 countries worldwide, with a total transaction amount reaching 360 billion KRW last year, making it a next-generation unicorn company (a private company valued at over 1 trillion KRW). Triple also provides real-time travel information for 1 million locations in over 200 cities worldwide, tailored to travelers' locations and routes, with 6 million subscribers (since its official service launch in July 2017). An industry insider said, "The innovative capabilities of startups, such as various content services based on big data, can bring changes to the domestic travel market."