"Due to the Spread of the Delta Variant" ... Home Shopping Overseas Travel Products May Suffer Impact

Sales Resume After One and a Half Years Since COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporters Jo In-kyung and Kim Yuri] The retail industry, which had high expectations for travel product sales due to the expansion of vaccinations and the full-scale promotion of 'travel bubbles' by various countries, is once again on edge over concerns about the spread of COVID-19 variants. Home shopping companies that resumed overseas travel product sales after a year and a half are anxiously worried that the recovering travel demand might shrink again.

Explosive Release of Suppressed Travel Demand

According to the home shopping industry on the 22nd, CJ OnStyle, in collaboration with Norangpungseon, achieved over 5.2 million reservations for the 'Top 3 Popular Europe Itineraries' package product sold on the 6th, reaching payment amounts exceeding 20 billion KRW. This marked the largest performance in domestic travel home shopping history since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lotte Home Shopping also recorded about 10,000 reservations for the 'Kyowon KRT Mediterranean Package' broadcast on the 13th, with order amounts reaching approximately 2 billion KRW. Lotte Home Shopping is additionally preparing products such as the 'Interpark Prepaid Package,' offering up to 40% discounts on package tours worldwide including Europe, the Americas, and Southeast Asia, and the 'Overseas Prepaid Golf Package,' reflecting demand for overseas golf rounds.

GS Shop's European travel package product launched on the 20th has already recorded 7,000 reservations, and NS Home Shopping received about 6,000 reservations for Turkey and Italy travel products sold on the 19th, with order amounts reaching 1.1 billion KRW. An NS Home Shopping official said, "The number of reservations exceeded expectations," adding, "Suppressed travel demand surged due to the shockingly low prices and conditions allowing safe reservations for two years."

Delta Variant Spread... Vigilant Monitoring

However, the Delta variant originating from India has poured cold water on the situation. As some countries in Europe and elsewhere, judging the spread of the Delta variant to be serious, have announced strengthened entry procedures for certain countries, the industry is closely monitoring the situation.

Most of the products sold by these home shopping companies are structured to allow departures within two years, so there have been no cases of immediate cancellations or refunds.

A home shopping industry official said, "This month, just one overseas travel sales broadcast confirmed the possibility that suppressed travel demand could explode, but there are concerns about being hit again by variant viruses before departures even begin." Another official said, "We were planning additional package products combining various destinations and premium services," adding, "Since the situation is changing by the hour, we are sensitively monitoring and responding to COVID-related issues."