Overseas Travel Bookings Recover 40-70% in 2019
Expansion of Overseas Travel Broadcasts Due to Demand Normalization
As the COVID-19 pandemic shifts from a pandemic to an endemic, overseas travel is resuming in earnest after three years. With the skies reopening, the home shopping industry is accelerating the expansion of travel product offerings to capture the pent-up demand for overseas travel.
According to the industry on the 26th, GS Shop's overseas travel product reservations increased by 800% last year compared to the previous year. Overseas travel reservations, which plummeted by more than 90% in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic fully took hold, continued to decline by 62% in 2021. However, last year, with the lifting of social distancing measures, the suppressed travel demand led to a "revenge travel" trend, showing a clear recovery to about 40% of the 2019 level before the COVID-19 outbreak.
Lotte Homeshopping also saw reservations more than triple last year compared to the COVID-19 period (2020-2021). Overseas travel reservations, which had decreased by 90% in 2020 due to product cancellations, increased 2.5 times in 2021 with the expansion of vaccinations and a base effect, and last year, with the exemption from self-quarantine, demand recovery accelerated, increasing by 70%.
As demand for overseas travel products increases, related sales are also showing a clear recovery trend. CJ OnStyle reported that last year, overseas travel order amounts grew about 10 times compared to 2021, recovering to approximately 70% of the 2019 level. A CJ OnStyle official explained, "Considering that the period when overseas travel began in earnest was from May last year, at the peak of endemic expectations, we evaluate that related demand has recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels."
As overseas travel demand enters a normalization path, home shopping companies are actively expanding related product offerings. Hyundai Homeshopping plans to continuously expand overseas travel products this year, increasing beyond pre-COVID-19 levels. A Hyundai Homeshopping official said, "We will not simply increase the number of broadcasts but will raise the proportion of products that consumers are highly interested in through big data analysis of purchases," adding, "We also plan to expand travel-related products such as carriers."
Lotte Homeshopping also plans to expand product offerings to pre-COVID-19 levels by selecting popular travel destinations and showcasing related products more than three times a week during weekend prime time. Their strategy includes diversifying products by combining package tours and independent travel into semi-package tours, as well as premium business packages to differentiate their offerings. GS Shop also plans to expand travel products by more than 50% this year compared to last year, broadening choices by categorizing them into premium and value options.
The response to the expanded offerings has been immediate since the beginning of the year. GS Shop's Japan Osaka travel product broadcast on New Year's Day received 3,000 orders, 65% higher than the target, and the premium 9-day Spain and Portugal travel product broadcast on the 15th attracted 1,600 consultation orders, 95% above the target. CJ OnStyle conducted three broadcasts on January 1st featuring cruise travel, a tour around Switzerland, and Western Europe travel, recording a total order amount of 50 billion KRW in one day. Additionally, the broadcast on January 8th for a 10-day tour of Eastern Europe and T?rkiye also achieved an order amount of 20 billion KRW.
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