11st and Gmarket Participate in Accommodation Festa
Government Support Focuses on Non-Capital Region Products
Coupang and SSG.com Abstain... Strength in the Capital Region
'Capital Region vs Non-Capital Region'
In the e-commerce industry, a competition for discounts on accommodation products targeting this month's Chuseok holiday has taken place. The battle is whether to focus on accommodation products in the non-capital region, which receives fewer visitors and is supported by the government, or to emphasize accommodation products in the capital region, which attracts many visitors without government support.
According to the industry on the 2nd, 11st Street and Gmarket are participating in the 'Accommodation Sale Festa' hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization to support domestic travel this fall during the Chuseok golden holiday. The Accommodation Sale Festa is a public-private cooperation campaign established to promote domestic tourism and revitalize the regional economy. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, together with the Korea Tourism Organization, has been distributing 200,000 accommodation discount coupons for non-capital region areas since the 27th of last month in preparation for the Chuseok holiday.
Through this event, 11st Street is offering discounts on a total of about 65,000 domestic accommodation products. Until the 29th, they are issuing 'Accommodation Festa 30,000 KRW discount coupons' (for payments over 70,000 KRW) and 'Accommodation Festa 20,000 KRW discount coupons' (for payments under 70,000 KRW) that can be used for reservations of accommodation products in all non-capital region areas every day.
Gmarket and Auction are also participating in the Accommodation Sale Festa, offering discounts of up to 60,000 KRW. Like 11st Street, they provide a 30,000 KRW discount coupon for payments over 70,000 KRW for non-capital region accommodations, and additionally, they give out overlapping coupons of 5,000 KRW for payments over 150,000 KRW and 10,000 KRW for payments over 250,000 KRW once per day per ID.
On the other hand, Coupang is not participating in the Accommodation Sale Festa during this Chuseok holiday period but has decided to hold a separate 'Cost-Effective Hotel Challenge.' The Cost-Effective Hotel Challenge offers up to 15% discounts on about 60 cost-effective accommodations in major tourist destinations nationwide, including Seoul, Busan, Gangwon, and Jeju, targeting Wow members until the 22nd of this month. It is also reported that SSG.com is not participating in this Accommodation Sale Festa and is preparing a separate promotion.
Previously, Coupang and SSG.com participated in the Accommodation Sale Festa targeting summer vacations in June, but it is known that after internal review, they ultimately decided not to participate this time. An industry insider said, "With the demand for hotels and motels located in the capital region, including Seoul, continuously increasing, it was judged inefficient to participate in the Accommodation Sale Festa, which is focused on the non-capital region."
According to the Korea Tourism Data Lab of the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of visitors by region in Korea from January to July this year is concentrated in the capital region. During this period, Gyeonggi-do recorded 1,691.5 million visitors, and Seoul recorded 1,259.23 million visitors, ranking the highest among metropolitan local governments nationwide. In contrast, non-capital regions such as Gangwon, Chungnam, Chungbuk, Jeonbuk, and Jeonnam mostly had around 300 million visitors.
Considering these tourism trends, some in the industry say that participating in the Accommodation Sale Festa may not offer significant benefits. Another industry insider said, "While it may have meaning in maintaining participation and market share, in terms of sales and profitability, the Accommodation Sale Festa may not be of great help to companies," adding, "It seems to be an event advantageous to travel platforms that mainly sell pensions and other accommodations located in the non-capital region."
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