The door to overseas travel is opening again. Overseas travel, which had stopped after a record 28.71 million people departed from Korea in 2019, is expected to resume in earnest this summer. The government plans to significantly expand international flights from May right away and restore it to half the pre-COVID level by the end of the year. The atmosphere is the biggest market in two years. Although the local Korean travel infrastructure has not yet recovered, home shopping travel products have already been sold out, and global travel companies have begun to solicit.
Flight booking app of Agoda, a global hotel booking site. A round-trip ticket to Asiana Bangkok costs 63,000 won. Malaysia Airlines 79,000 won, Singapore Airlines 90,000 won, Vietnam Airlines 100,000 won. If you look carefully, you can even find 40,000 won. Traveling in Southeast Asia at the same price as a domestic one-way ticket. It is not a low-cost airline, and it is a representative airline of each country that provides drinks and alcoholic beverages for free in-flight meals.
The moment I entered the reservation in a hurry to avoid being sold out, and the moment I entered my name, it said, “The fare has been updated by the airline,” and the price exceeds 1 million won. Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines.
The same thing is happening to Kayak, a multinational travel search company that started in the United States, by sharing flight information with Agoda.
It means that global travel agencies are united to solicit customers at exorbitant prices, and it seems to have the effect of attracting attention and increasing the concentration on the site whether customers are angry or not.
Aircrafts at Incheon International Airport [자료사진: 연합뉴스 제공]
The number of international flights departing from Korea, which has plummeted since the outbreak of Corona 19, will increase in earnest from May. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 6th that it would allow up to half of the volume of international flights by the end of this year.
Regular international flights from 420 flights a week will be increased to 520 flights a week in May and 620 flights a week in June. From next month, international flights will start at Muan Cheongju Jeju Airport.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also decided to ease the limit on the number of flights arriving per hour at Incheon International Airport from 10 to 20 for the first time in two years. That means we can double the number of flights. In particular, we are considering exempting the PCR test, which is required for people entering from overseas.
Kim Yong-seok, director of aviation policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, “The ultimate goal of all corona-related policies is to restore our people to their daily lives, so we will do our best to help the aviation sector return to their daily lives as soon as possible.”
Airlines and travel agencies are welcoming plans to increase international flights. Home shopping travel products are mainly being launched in places where air travel is smooth, and they are sold as soon as they come out.
Lotte Tourism Development announced on the 3rd that the Nordic 10-day package, which was conducted at Hyundai Home Shopping on the 3rd, generated about 26 billion won in sales in 70 minutes. It was an expensive product of 6.29 million won per person, but it is said that it recorded the highest sales in two years among home shopping overseas travel products released by Lotte Tourism Development.
On the 27th of last month, CJ OnStyle, along with travel agency Kyowon KRT, received 15 billion won in orders for a tour package broadcast in Spain and Italy.
As international flights increase, home shopping travel products are expected to become more diverse and cheaper.
Although ticket prices have skyrocketed since the self-quarantine for inbound travelers was exempted, individual ticket sales by travel agencies are also rapidly increasing several times, which can open up the air ticket supply and demand.
Travel agencies are one of the most affected industries since the corona virus. However, the government did not directly restrict business, so it was excluded from support. More than half of its employees left the company and sales fell 95%, resulting in huge losses.
The same was true of local Korean travel agencies. Since there were no Korean visitors to the guide rental car restaurants, etc., they closed their doors one by one and returned home. As a result, many local Korean tourism infrastructure is collapsing and a surge in tourists this summer could lead to a serious lack of guides.
It’s rare for an entire industry to have very little revenue and compete again. The travel industry is starting all over again. As the winner of this summer’s package tour is highly likely to lead the travel industry in the future, unreasonable marketing may be rampant. There are also concerns about dumping and fraudulent sale and extortion of bait products.
Home shopping and traditional travel agencies. Latecomers and big tech companies, lodging companies and travel companies are likely to unite more strongly to become the protagonists of a large market that has been open for a long time. Agoda and kayak fishing show that the war has already begun.
