--- title: "Why Major Platforms and Super Apps Are Going All-In on Travel" description: "These days, it's hard to find a major platform or super app that doesn't offer travel services. Why is every big player so eager to capture travel consumers?" published: 2024-07-02T00:00:00+00:00 author: "ONDA 편집팀" category: "Weekly ON" image: "https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/66837a40a3d57e2237a0309f_WeeklyON_vol129_webflow_cover_1200px.png" canonical: https://global.onda.me/en/blog?slug=vol-129 locale: en --- # Why Major Platforms and Super Apps Are Going All-In on Travel ⚠️ All rights reserved. Cite this piece as 'ONDA (온다)' when quoting. --- #### **In this week's Weekly ON** 🏨 Why major platforms and super apps are going all-in on travel 💡 Summer vacation's here — where are people headed? ⌨️ #MayInboundTourism #HotelNoKidsZones #GenZPackages #LuxuryTourists #BarcelonaShortTermRentals --- **🏨 Industry Spotlight** ### **Why Major Platforms and Super Apps Are Going All-In on Travel** - 'Book a stay, get a car — Socar' ([Socar](https://socar-mkt.socar.kr/event/socarstay)) - 'Market heats up… Naver and Kakao join the fight' ([Dealsite, 2023/12/19](https://dealsite.co.kr/articles/114577)) - 'Heading abroad? Try Travellog, airport lounge access on Salt Travel, currency exchange on Toss Bank's FX account or Travelers, or Kakao Bank's Dollar Box' ([Edaily, 2024/06/27](https://www.edaily.co.kr/news/read?newsId=01226726638925984&mediaCodeNo=257)) Maybe it's peak vacation season. Either way, you can't go online these days without seeing "travel" everywhere. Every site seems to feature banner ads for Japan — Korea's favorite overseas destination. As a sports-loving guy in his 40s, I'm constantly shown Major League Baseball or Premier League package tour ads. Fair enough — targeted ads follow you around. But here's what stands out: **it's genuinely hard to find a major platform or super app these days that doesn't offer travel services.** The most intriguing example? Socar. As you might know, Socar started as a car-sharing platform. Now, if you book accommodation through Socar, they'll throw in a 24-hour vehicle voucher. This isn't just a side business — the tagline "Book a stay, get a car" almost sounds like they're a lodging company that happens to rent cars too. When you think about it, people use car rentals and car-sharing services when they travel, and the destination is usually a hotel, guesthouse, or pension. If you can handle the entire journey — transportation and lodging — in one app, it's convenient for consumers and opens a new growth channel for the company. As someone working in travel, **the fact that I now open Socar before my usual booking apps feels like a meaningful shift.** Naver and Kakao are equally serious about travel. According to Open Survey's [2023 Travel Trend Report](https://blog.opensurvey.co.kr/trendreport/travel-2023/), Naver ranked as the second most-used platform for overseas travel after Agoda. Meanwhile, ['KakaoTalk Reservations'](https://www.onda.me/blog/kakaotog-yeyaghagie-sugsoreul-noculhaeya-haneun-iyu) — which we covered in a previous Weekly ON — has blown past 1 million users, now sitting at over 1.158 million. So why are all these major services fighting so hard to win over travel consumers? ### 👉[****](https://www.onda.me/blog/daehyeong-peulraespomgwa-syupeoaebi-yeohaenge-jinsimin-iyu?utm_source=stibee&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter-2024_07_02) --- **💡 Hospitality Trends** ### **Summer Vacation's Here — Where Are People Headed?** With peak summer vacation season almost here, where are Korean travelers planning to go? According to data consulting firm PMI, **70.8% of respondents planning summer vacations said they'll travel domestically**. Gangwon-do topped the list (31.3%), followed by Jeju (18.1%) and Busan (9.1%). Gangwon-do's popularity has surged, while **Jeju — once the go-to destination — has lost steam amid negative press around high prices and the infamous 'non-pork pork belly' scandal.** Domestic visitors to Jeju from January through April were down 5–13% year-over-year. **Jeju's decline is Gangwon's gain.** Consumer Insight data shows diverging trajectories: **Jeju's share of planned trips fell 9 percentage points, and actual visits dropped 3 points. Meanwhile, Gangwon rose 2 points on both metrics.** Jeju, now battling a reputation for overpricing and poor service, has launched the 'Jeju Tourism Innovation Emergency Committee' to restore its image and improve tourism quality. ### [👉<**Read the full story**\>](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2024062611032170491) --- **⌨️ Keyword News** **1️⃣ May Inbound Tourism** [👉\[Read the full story\]](https://www.sukbakmagazine.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=61185) **TL;DR:** 1.42 million foreign tourists visited Korea in May — 95% of 2019 levels **The story:** Foreign arrivals in May surged 63.6% year-over-year to around 1.42 million, reaching 95% of 2019 pre-pandemic levels. **Holiday bump?** May featured Japan's Golden Week and China's Labor Day holidays, which usually drive strong tourism demand. Japanese visitors rose about 50,000 from April, but Chinese arrivals dipped slightly. **2️⃣ Hotel No-Kids Zones** [👉\[Read the full story\]](https://www.chosun.com/economy/industry-company/2024/06/26/OCZ2ESM5EZB25NHS5JR46M6YJE/) **TL;DR:** Hotels and resorts roll out no-kids pools **The story:** As summer vacation season kicks off, more Korean hotels and resorts are declaring pools 'no-kids zones' — either by setting age restrictions or carving out kid-free time slots. **Why now?** Demand for family trips abroad has grown, leaving domestic hotels and resorts with lower occupancy. They're pivoting to attract Gen Z and Millennials with the promise of a quieter poolside vibe. **3️⃣ Gen Z Packages** [👉\[Read the full story\]](https://www.hankyung.com/article/202406263353g) **TL;DR:** Niche package tours tailored to Gen Z flying off the shelves **The story:** Package tours built around personal tastes are booming among people in their 20s and 30s. Highly specific themes — segmented by age group or hobby — are selling out fast. **Numbers?** At Hana Tour, 20–30-year-olds made up 16% of package bookings in 2019, rising to 30% by 2022. Mode Tour saw a similar jump, from 13% to 20%. **4️⃣ Luxury Tourists** [👉\[Read the full story\]](https://www.chosun.com/national/regional/2024/06/28/BENLIIB76JFKVB25A4U5EPE3RA/) **TL;DR:** Ultra-luxury Korea tours are taking off **The story:** High-end experiences that cost hundreds of thousands of won per day are gaining traction. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, around 180,000 luxury tourists visited Korea last year. **How much are they spending?** Top-tier travelers — those flying first-class or private jets — spent an average of ₩21.16 million per person on 'pure experiences' (excluding transportation and shopping). **5️⃣ Barcelona Short-Term Rentals** [👉\[Read the full story\]](https://biz.chosun.com/international/international_general/2024/06/22/RJ7BKEZWBBA3JEE23G3INFZIP4) **TL;DR:** Barcelona bans short-term tourist rentals **The story:** Barcelona is cracking down on the housing crisis by banning short-term rentals for tourists. By 2028, the city plans to revoke permits for all 10,101 registered short-term apartments. **Why?** Over the past decade, the surge in tourist rentals drove apartment rents up 68% and home prices up 38%. ---