Norangpungseon, 20th Anniversary Vision Declaration Ceremony... "Leap to Korea's No.1 Korean-style OTA Platform"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Norang Poongseon, the nation's No.1 direct sales travel specialist company, announced at its 20th anniversary celebration and vision declaration ceremony held on the 1st at its headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, that it aims to "grow into the leading native OTA (Online Travel Agency) platform by 2025."

On this day, Norang Poongseon held a commemorative ceremony and vision declaration event to mark its 20th anniversary. Despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic causing significant difficulties across the travel and airline industries, the company aims to overcome the crisis and lead the post-COVID travel industry through its next-generation growth engine, the ‘Norang Poongseon Free Travel Platform.’

Ko Jae-kyung, Chairman of Norang Poongseon, said, “It is with a heavy heart that we mark our 20th anniversary at a time when the global travel industry is facing an unprecedented crisis due to COVID-19. However, since our founding, we have possessed the ‘success DNA’ of rapid decision-making and proactive response amid rapid changes and crises in the travel industry, which has enabled us to grow into the nation’s No.1 direct sales travel agency,” expressing confidence in overcoming the crisis.

Norang Poongseon was founded in 2001 as ‘Chulbal Dream Tour’ and changed its name to the current one in 2003. Unlike most travel agencies at the time that conducted indirect sales, it focused on direct sales by selling travel products directly to consumers. Through price competitiveness, it popularized package tours, changed the travel market landscape, increased customer satisfaction, and established a leading position in the domestic travel industry.

In June this year, Norang Poongseon officially launched the ‘Norang Poongseon Free Travel Platform,’ the first OTA platform to implement an integrated shopping cart function. Based on its own IT system, it minimized development costs while maximizing functionality. It features the ability to search, book, and pay for all necessary travel products and services such as flights, hotels, tours, and rental cars in one place.

Going forward, the company plans to develop the system further by offering personalized travel itinerary recommendations through big data analysis and travelogue sharing, aiming to grow into the nation’s No.1 Korean-style OTA competing with global OTAs. The initial goal is to secure 1 million monthly active users (MAU) of the OTA by 2022 through additional investment and strengthened marketing. Subsequently, it plans to expand MAU to 3 million through service differentiation.

Chairman Ko said, “There were views that launching an OTA amid the current COVID-19 situation was a premature challenge, but it was a strategy to preemptively capture the travel market that will explosively grow after COVID-19. The OTA based on free travel is not only important for the company’s sustainable growth but also an essential core competitiveness for survival in the post-COVID era.”

He added, “We will grow not just as a seller of simple travel leisure products but as a platform company providing all services related to everyday life. Through the adoption of next-generation IT technologies such as metaverse and blockchain and continuous R&D, we will leap forward as a global platform company integrating the latest IT tech.”

Meanwhile, in July, Norang Poongseon acquired Wishbin, a revenue-sharing content platform where users create travel-related content such as travel preparation processes, itineraries, and travelogues. The company plans to actively support Wishbin’s growth through marketing cooperation with travel product sellers and sales of products linked to content in the future.