Social Distancing Nearing End... T-map Usage Also Recovers to Last Year's Level

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] As social distancing measures come to an end, the usage of SK Telecom's national navigation app T map has recovered to last year's levels.

According to SK Telecom on the 1st, an analysis of T map usage from the 25th to 26th of last month showed that the number of route guidance requests from users reached approximately 24.7 million, similar to the number of requests on the last weekend of April last year.

With the decline in the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the easing of social distancing, the volume of movement has significantly increased.

In particular, the main destinations searched last weekend were ▲Starfield Hanam ▲Yeoju Shinsegae Outlet ▲Gimpo Hyundai Outlet ▲Paju Shinsegae Outlet ▲IKEA Gwangmyeong, showing that searches for indoor shopping malls, which had sharply decreased since the outbreak of COVID-19, have returned to levels similar to previous years.

Analyzing search data over the past year, SK Telecom found that the average daily number of T map users on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) last year was about 4 million. However, after the outbreak of COVID-19 in February and March, the average daily number of weekend T map users decreased by more than 20%.

An SK Telecom official stated, "There was a significant decrease in leisure-related population movement, which mainly occurred on weekends during the social distancing period." The total usage, which used to exceed 360 million requests per month, decreased by about 15% during this period, and the reduction in population movement was greater on weekends than on weekdays.

COVID-19 also changed the ranking of popular destinations. In March, when COVID-19 was spreading, three of the top destinations were Seoul Asan Medical Center (2nd place) and Samsung Seoul Hospital (3rd place). Expanding the range to the top 10 destinations, Yonsei Severance Hospital (8th place) and Seoul National University Hospital (10th place) were also included, totaling four hospitals. This is a significant difference from last year's top 10, which included only one hospital, Samsung Seoul Hospital (8th place).

Incheon International Airport, which was the most frequently set destination by customers in March last year, dropped to 5th place in March this year. The frequency of setting Incheon Airport as a destination was only about one-third compared to last year, indicating a sharp decline in overseas travelers after COVID-19.

Among the top 10 major destinations in March last year, including Incheon Airport, half were crowded transportation hubs such as Seoul Station (3rd place), Gwangmyeong Station (4th place), Gimpo Airport (9th place), and Suwon Station (10th place). However, none of these were included in March this year.

There was also a noticeable increase in searches for outdoor destinations in March this year. Dumoolmeori, which did not even make the top 30 last March, saw a roughly 38% increase in destination usage last month compared to the same period last year, ranking 6th among popular destinations.

An SK Telecom official said, "We confirmed that drivers' movements have greatly increased ahead of the end of social distancing," adding, "As continued population movement is expected, we will continue to improve T map functions for drivers' convenience, including adding new features such as 'Children's Safe Route.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.