Domestic Platforms Push Into Overseas Travel ... From Search to Booking and Ticketing
IT DAILY ·
✦ Resumen de IA
Domestic platforms are expanding overseas travel information services from the search stage to post-booking and payment stages.
Naver has expanded overseas travel search information to 45 Asian cities, NOL has begun booking overseas trains and buses, and MyRealTrip has unveiled an eSIM recommendation service tailored to travel schedules.
Users can now handle local transport ticketing, telecom product recommendations, and checks on accommodation rates and availability within the platform.
Domestic platforms are expanding their touchpoints with overseas travelers, broadening services from the search stage to the post-booking and payment stages. Beyond providing overseas travel information, they are now offering local transport ticketing and recommendations for telecom products tied to existing reservation schedules. They are also showing a flow that connects search and content, product information from overseas providers, and user booking data to the actual travel experience.
This move also lines up with the early-October holiday schedule, which makes short overseas trips possible. From the 3rd to the 5th, there will be a three-day holiday including National Foundation Day and a substitute holiday, and from the 9th, Hangeul Day, through the 11th, another three days off are also possible. In early October, two three-day holiday periods run back to back, making it possible to plan a short overseas trip without taking annual leave.
Against this backdrop, Naver revamped Asia travel destination searches on the 2nd. NOL began overseas rail and bus bookings. MyRealTrip unveiled its own eSIM recommendation service tailored to travel itineraries.
Naver announced on the 2nd that it was enhancing the overseas travel information discovery experience. The expansion widens overseas travel search information, which had been centered on Japan, to several regions across Asia. The coverage now spans 45 cities in Asia.
Naver has expanded its overseas travel search results. The existing coverage area was Japan, and the newly added areas are major cities in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.
When users search for a travel destination, they can check weather, exchange rates, visas, and recommended travel periods. The service also provides entry guidance and safety notices supplied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Naver is also providing local place information. Users can select categories such as places to visit, restaurants, travel guides, things to do, hotels, and recommended routes. The sources of the displayed content are Naver Blog, Cafe, and Clip, while the sources of the displayed information are tourism boards and travel media outlets.
AI selects recently popular restaurants, landmarks, and theme parks based on users' travel content. When a recommended place is selected, users can check overseas places that include travel routes, location, and detailed information.
As more users search for overseas travel information on Naver, reservation conversion use in overseas place searches is also increasing. In Naver's case, the number of users who clicked the button to move from Japanese restaurant information to the Tabelog reservation page in August rose 482% from a year earlier.
The scope of accommodation searches has also expanded. Airbnb recently linked its overseas accommodation information to Naver integrated search. As a result, users can now check real-time rates and availability for hotels and Airbnb accommodations at the same time, and bookings can also be made on Airbnb.
In this regard, Choi Ji-hoon, leader of Naver Place Search, said users' overseas travel information discovery within Naver continues to increase. He also said the company plans to keep strengthening its overseas place and search functions. Naver plans to gradually expand supported overseas travel search regions to the Americas and other areas.
Against this backdrop, NOL launched overseas train and bus booking services through integration with Rail Europe and FlixBus. The photo related to this article was provided by Nol Universe.
NOL, operated by Nol Universe, began overseas train and bus booking services on the 1st. With this service addition, users can now book and ticket transport between travel destinations on a domestic platform.
NOL connected with Rail Europe, a European rail booking platform, and also integrated with FlixBus, a bus network spanning Europe and the Americas, to secure the service. Nol Universe said this is the first direct integration with FlixBus among domestic travel platforms.
Users can enter their departure point, destination, and schedule to view multiple stations and transport options. This allows them to compare prices, departure times, and travel durations.
They can also check seat availability and dynamic pricing in real time. After search, there is no need to move to an external booking service; the transport use process is handled entirely within NOL.
NOL handles product discovery, reservations, payment, ticketing, and reservation management. It also provides Korean-language counseling services.
NOL consolidated flights, accommodations, tours, and tickets into one platform through service integration last month.
NOL has now added intercity transport to that offering.
NOL plans to expand its suppliers in the future. It also plans to add regional and transport products in the future.
MyRealTrip has launched its own eSIM brand, 'Mysim.' MyRealTrip has combined telecommunications and travel.
Local telecom products are linked to users' prebooked travel itineraries. MyRealTrip recommends destination eSIMs tailored to travel schedules for customers who book flights, lodging, tours, and activities.
Usage periods range from 1 to 30 days, with daily selection available. Data products are structured by capacity from 300MB to 5GB, and unlimited plans are also included. Before purchase, users can check in the app whether their smartphone supports eSIM.
MyRealTrip plans to add a feature this month that will let users pay for eSIMs at the same time as flight and lodging bookings. The feature uses existing booking information, so users do not need to search for telecom products separately or reenter their destination and travel period. MyRealTrip's AI-based travel itinerary generation service is also set to be unveiled soon.
At the same time, the industry is preparing to unveil technologies that use AI to expand the entire travel preparation process. Yanolja Group plans to participate in 'AI Festa 2026,' which will be held from October 6 to 8 at COEX in Seoul, and disclose technology that generates travel itineraries including two or more cities or regions when conditions are entered in natural language, as well as price estimates generated by that technology. Nol Universe also plans to unveil AI technology that recommends travel and leisure content tailored to user preferences, as well as NOL AI technology that connects trip planning with product recommendations and bookings.
Source: IT DAILY · Kim Byeong-ju
Original: https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=241978
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Source: IT DAILY
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