“Bold Investment, The Secret to Being Number One in Airline Ticket Sales”

Interview with Shin Jeong-ho, Interpark Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
Focused on technology advancement during COVID-19, launched Mix Round-Trip Airfare Service
Ranked No.1 in airline ticket sales, expanding use of 'customized services' in lodging and leisure sectors

Shin Jeong-ho, CMO of Interpark. Photo by Interpark

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] As the travel market, which had been stagnant due to COVID-19, is beginning to recover, the number of reservations for airline tickets and package travel products has been found to have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Interpark announced that the number of overseas airline ticket issuances in October increased by 1306% compared to the same period last year, rose 43% compared to the previous month, and increased 5% compared to October 2019, already surpassing pre-COVID levels. Shin Jeongho, Interpark's CMO (Chief Marketing Officer), said in an interview with Asia Economy on the 6th, “With the resumption of independent travel, more people are choosing Japan as their travel destination than in 2019,” adding, “Travel companies are putting all their efforts into the Japanese market.”

Interpark, which has distinguished itself as a platform for airline tickets and performance tickets, was able to maintain its industry-leading position thanks to the technological advancements it invested in intensively during the COVID period. The Mix Round-trip Airline Ticket service, launched last May, is the first example. Shin CMO emphasized, “Typically, airline ticket sales systems only sold round-trip tickets where the departure and return airlines were the same, but this service provides combined results of all airline routes for departure and arrival locations at once,” adding, “This allows customers to book customized airline tickets by considering various factors such as their schedule, price, travel time, and airline.”

According to the company, as travel demand surged, the usage of this service in October increased more than tenfold (974%) compared to its initial launch, and currently, one out of every ten customers purchasing airline tickets on Interpark uses this service, showing a very positive response.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Shin CMO pointed to the reopening of markets favored by Koreans as a key factor in the normalization of the travel market. He diagnosed, “Although the Japanese market has reopened, travel to China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, which have not yet reopened, must resume to accelerate the revitalization of the travel industry.” He continued, “Additionally, the normalization of airline routes must be achieved to stabilize prices, and personnel who left the travel industry due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation need to return quickly.” In July, London Heathrow Airport in the UK requested airlines to suspend the sale of new outbound international tickets. This was because the surge in travel demand before recovering the workforce reduced during COVID made it impossible to provide normal services such as ticket issuance and baggage handling. In fact, the global travel industry is suffering from labor shortages caused by personnel departures during COVID.

Yanolja, which acquired Interpark last May, announced the birth of a ‘travel giant’ company by bringing together the hyper-personalized travel platform Triple, Daily Hotel, and Interpark. Shin CMO said, “The merger of the two companies is more meaningful in securing competitiveness against global OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) by preventing redundant investments than just being an industry giant,” explaining, “According to statistics from the Korea Tourism Organization, the online travel market share of the four global OTA groups?Expedia, Booking Holdings, Trip.com, and Airbnb?reaches 97%, so it is urgent for domestic companies to secure an advantage in competition with them.”

Shin CMO, a strategist with a background as a data scientist, is currently leading the development of customized services by combining data in Interpark’s strong content areas along with accommodation and airline tickets. He stated, “70-80% of musical audiences are women in their 20s to 40s, and they also represent the highest proportion among overseas travelers,” adding, “We aim to introduce a service that recommends travel destinations to customers like YouTube or Amazon by combining Triple’s hyper-personalization algorithm with Interpark’s services.”