Overseas Airfare Sales Increase 9-Fold... Home Shopping Travel Packages Also Sold Out

Surge in Demand Amid Endemic Atmosphere
Overseas Tour Product Sales Increase Eightfold
Continued Sales Success on Home Shopping Channels

Scenic view of a Swedish port.

Office worker Lee Ji-eun (alias, 30) recently received her third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Although she was hesitant as the time for the third dose approached, she hurried to complete it after confirming her trip to Saipan next month. Lee said, "I hesitated because I was worried that if I traveled abroad instead of going on a business trip and tested positive, it might cause harm to those around me. But with the endemic atmosphere, I couldn’t resist taking this vacation and booked an overseas trip," adding, "I even took out my passport, which had been tucked away deep in a drawer, for the first time in a while."

As the skies, which had been closed, reopened amid the endemic atmosphere, demand for overseas travel is surging. The home shopping industry has simultaneously resumed selling overseas travel products on Sunday afternoons, absorbing the pent-up demand for international travel. Sales performance is also exceeding expectations. Long-distance products, such as trips to Northern Europe, are also gaining popularity.

On the 14th, an analysis of big data from Gmarket and Auction, covering the period from the announcement of the exemption from self-quarantine for overseas arrivals on the 11th of last month to the 10th of this month, showed that overseas airline ticket sales surged more than ninefold (876%). Sales of local overseas tour products also increased more than eightfold (781%). The home shopping industry has also jumped into selling overseas travel products. Hyundai Home Shopping’s 4-night, 5-day Hawaii package sold on the 27th of last month received 6,000 orders within an hour of the broadcast, generating sales of 14 billion KRW and selling out completely. CJ OnStyle also received about 2,800 customer orders within an hour during its Spain and Italy package travel broadcast on the 27th of last month, recording approximately 15 billion KRW in orders. Due to explosive interest, Shinsegae Live Shopping partnered with Shinsegae Duty Free on the same day to launch a joint promotional product.

According to Gmarket and Auction, since COVID-19, there has been a strong trend toward traveling to distant countries. The ranking of overseas airline ticket sales showed Cambodia as the most sold destination, followed by Los Angeles in second place, and Hawaii in third. Other destinations included Bangkok, Vancouver, and Toronto. Among the top 10, six destinations are long-distance, with flight times exceeding six hours. Changes in the customer base are also noticeable. The proportion of male customers, which was 43% in 2019, exceeded half (51%) for the first time this year. The proportion of customers aged 50 and over also increased significantly to 32%, compared to 24% three years ago. An industry insider said, "There is a strong compensatory psychology for overseas travel that had been suppressed, leading to increased popularity of destinations that were previously difficult to decide on," adding, "Choosing travel destinations based on hygiene and quarantine standards is also noticeable."

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