"Was This Chinese? No Wonder the Price Spiked at Checkout... Domestic Travel Platforms Face an Unlevel Playing Field"

Trip.com Doubles Its User Base

Takes the Lead in User Acquisition

Global Travel Platforms Leverage Capital Strength

Rapidly Gaining Ground in the Domestic Market

As the domestic online travel agency (OTA) market continues to grow, foreign platforms are intensifying their efforts to capture market share. With travel demand rebounding after the pandemic and online booking and purchasing becoming commonplace, overseas platforms are leveraging their capital strength to strengthen their push into the South Korean market. However, many of these foreign players operate outside the scope of domestic regulations, raising concerns in the industry about a so-called "reverse discrimination."

According to Mobile Index by IGAWorks as of last month, the leading travel platform in terms of monthly active users (MAU) was Nol (Yanolja) with 3.43 million users, followed by Yeogi Eottae with 3.26 million users. While domestic platforms still hold the top spots, foreign competitors are quickly closing the gap.

Trip.com’s Surge: Shaking Up the Domestic Online Travel Platform Market

The rapid growth of Trip.com, a Chinese travel platform, is particularly notable. During the same period, Trip.com recorded 2.57 million MAU, more than doubling from 1.26 million the previous year. Compared to 820,000 users in 2024, this is nearly a threefold increase in two years. Its ranking also rose from fifth to third place.

Trip.com also led in attracting new users. It ranked first with 307,069 new installations, far surpassing Yanolja (226,615) and Yeogi Eottae (223,991). Industry observers note that Trip.com has already established a competitive edge in user acquisition.

The online travel market has been expanding since COVID-19, as individual and small group trips have increased, and demand for comparing and booking flights, accommodation, and activities directly online has grown. According to global market research firm Statista, more than 60% of global travel market revenue in 2023 was generated through online channels, and this share is projected to rise to about 74% by 2027.

The market size is also on an upward trend. Due to the impact of COVID-19, revenue in the global online travel market fell to $225.2 billion (about 334.4445 trillion won) in 2020 but rebounded to $599.3 billion (about 890.0204 trillion won) in 2023. It is expected to reach $807.9 billion (1,199.8122 trillion won) by 2028. According to Statistics Korea, the online transaction volume for travel and transportation services increased from approximately 18 trillion won in 2019 to around 24 trillion won in 2023.

As demand for overseas travel grows, the competitiveness of foreign platforms is becoming more prominent. Platforms that provide integrated offerings of flights, accommodation, and activities align with the consumption patterns of outbound travelers, naturally drawing users toward overseas travel platforms.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization, as of 2023, 82.6% of inbound foreign tourists used online travel platforms before their trips. The most commonly used platforms included Booking.com, Agoda, and Trip.com. A report published by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute titled "Recent Trends in the Online Travel Agency Market and Policy Tasks" states that four players—Booking Holdings, Expedia, Airbnb, and Trip.com—account for more than 91% of global online travel agency market revenue.

Same Market, Different Rules: Heated Debate Over Reverse Discrimination

The issue is that only domestic operators are subject to regulations amid intensifying competition. Domestic platforms must comply with requirements such as refund policies, consumer protection, and advertising disclosure obligations under the Electronic Commerce Act and the Tourism Promotion Act. In contrast, foreign platforms, which operate with servers and headquarters located overseas, are often not subject to the same regulations.

A representative example is the "total price display system." Domestic platforms are required to show the final payment amount, including taxes and fees, on the initial product page. However, many foreign platforms display prices excluding taxes and service charges at first, with the amount increasing at the payment stage. This is why the so-called "dark pattern" controversy, referring to deceptive tactics, has arisen. In fact, when comparing the same accommodation, domestic platforms allowed users to see the final price upfront, while foreign platforms only showed the base rate, resulting in final payment amounts that were actually about 50,000 to 300,000 won higher in some cases. Critics point out that this creates a "price distortion," making foreign platforms appear cheaper to consumers.

There are also concerns about fairness in information security. Domestic platforms above a certain scale are required to obtain ISMS-P (Information Security Management System-Personal Information) certification. This is a national certification system that comprehensively reviews information security and personal data management frameworks to ensure stability.

However, a significant number of foreign platforms operating local branches in Korea do not meet this requirement. According to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), some global platforms such as Trip.com and Agoda have yet to obtain ISMS-P certification. The current Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection mandates certification for businesses generating at least 10 billion won in revenue from information and communications services or with more than 1 million daily active users (DAU). However, these companies are reportedly circumventing the requirement by not classifying their domestic sales as information and communications service revenue. In fact, Trip.com Korea (formerly Ctrip Korea) and Agoda Payment Korea posted revenues of 19.6 billion won and 84.7 billion won, respectively, last year. The criticism is that while the same standard is strictly applied to domestic firms, it is enforced more leniently for foreign companies.

The government’s "Fair Price Assurance System" (voluntary advance price reporting system) initiative is also controversial. This system requires lodging businesses to report peak and off-season rates in advance and disclose them on platforms. However, industry insiders warn that "it is virtually impossible to apply this to foreign platforms," raising concerns that only domestic companies will continue to be subject to such regulations.

An industry official said, "Foreign platforms can flexibly adjust prices without regulatory constraints, whereas domestic platforms must operate based on reported rates. Ultimately, this means that different standards are being applied within the same market."

The National Assembly has attempted to close these regulatory loopholes, but progress has been slow. Park Soo-hyun, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, sponsored an amendment to the Tourism Promotion Act last year to strengthen provisions for user rights protection, including foreign platforms, but the bill remains pending in the Assembly.

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