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Trip.com event breaks down booking habits of Korea as overseas travel climbs

Published: 16 Sep. 2025, 16:59

WOO JI-WON
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Justin Hong, Trip.com Korea's general manager, speaks during "Trip.Best 2025: Korea Travel Trends Unpacked" event at the Paradise City in Incheon on Sept. 16. [TRIP.COM]

YEONGJONG ISLAND, Incheon — Travelers make an average of 20 to 24 visits to a booking app over 11 days for a total of two hours before finally making reservations for an overseas trip.

With so many choices at their fingertips, travelers often experience fatigue from information overload.

Trip.com's curated ranking system, Trip.Best, is designed to ease the choice paralysis by offering verified lists of hotels, attractions and restaurants.

Global online travel platform Trip.com held the "Trip.Best 2025: Korea Travel Trends Unpacked" event at the Paradise City in Incheon on Tuesday. This was the company's first road show event introducing Trip.Best, along with the latest data on travel trends.

"Korean travelers not only travel overseas more frequently than their Asian peers, but they are also highly responsive to new trends," said Justin Hong, general manager at Trip.com Korea. "That is why we selected Korea as the first stop for Trip.Best's global road show. We hope Trip.Best helps solve the many choices travelers face when planning a trip, and enjoy the experience more quickly and easily."

The three keywords characterizing Koreans' trips based on Trip.Best's data were "more," "farther" and "more diversified."

Ranking second only to Singapore in the number of overseas trips among major Asian markets, Koreans have become more diverse in their travel, with a rise in long-term travel to Europe and the United States. Visits to themed hotels have surged, with reservations for homestay-style hotels up 697 percent on year and gourmet-themed hotels up 242 percent.

"In the past, people were satisfied with ready-made itineraries," said Lee Hyo-sang, director of Trip.com Korea's Leisure Business Division, at the event. "Today, we see stronger demand for personalized travel schedules."

She added that Korean travelers show greater interest in nighttime tourism, have a strong demand for seasonal tourism products and are also concerned about the quality of tourism infrastructure.

Sunny Sun, vice president of Trip.com Group, speaks during "Trip.Best 2025: Korea Travel Trends Unpacked" event at the Paradise City in Incheon on Sept. 16. [TRIP.COM]

Trip.Best offers 13 themed attaraction categories that update in real time, using big data analysis of suitability and visitor numbers as well as user and social content review both inside and outside the platform. It also applies AI models and expert verification processes.

Inbound travel to Korea was also highlighted, with visitors coming primarily from China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States and Singapore. Seoul, Jeju, Busan and Daegu were listed as top destinations, while Tongyeong in South Gyeongsang emerged as a rising hotspot, with overseas searches for the city up 326 percent compared to last year.

The growing popularity of K-content was also reflected in the data. Searches for the National Museum of Korea increased 34 percent, and reservations for Gyeongbok Palace rose 115 percent compared to last year. Other experiences such as traditional tea ceremonies and kimchi-making classes also gained in popularity.

BY WOO JI-WON [[email protected]]