[Interview] "60,000 Won Annual Fee, Double the Benefits?... This Membership Is a Must for Savvy Travelers"

Interview with Jung Hyun Lee, Head of Travel Planning Division at Kyowon Tour

Background of Launching the Paid Membership 'Easy Members'

Reducing Reliance on External Channels and Securing Loyal Customers

Building a Virtuous Cycle of

"Our goal is to strengthen our direct sales competitiveness and increase customer lifetime value (LTV) through paid memberships."

Jung Hyun Lee, Head of the Travel Planning Division at Kyowon Tour (pictured, age 43), stated this in a recent interview with The Asia Business Daily, explaining the background behind launching the travel industry’s first paid membership service, "Easy Members."

Kyowon Tour’s decision to introduce a paid membership card is part of its strategy to secure loyal customers. The company aims to reduce reliance on external sales channels such as home shopping, online platforms, and open markets, and instead encourage repeat purchases through its own platform, Travel Easy, thereby enhancing direct sales competitiveness.

Jung Hyun Lee, Head of Travel Planning Division. Courtesy of Kyowon Tour.

Lee commented, "The cost of acquiring new customers in the travel industry continues to rise," adding, "Now, what matters is not how many customers you can attract, but how long you can maintain relationships with the customers you have secured." He further emphasized, "The key competitive edge for travel agencies in the future will be to create services that customers repeatedly return to."

The challenging business environment is the main reason Kyowon Tour is pursuing this strategy. Last year, Kyowon Tour posted operating revenue of 26.3 billion won, a 29.3% decrease from 37.2 billion won the previous year. The company recorded an operating loss of 18.2 billion won. Despite a recovery in demand for overseas travel, the increased preference for free independent travel (FIT) and the growth of online travel agencies (OTA) are making it increasingly difficult for traditional package tour companies to secure profitability. Currently, Kyowon Tour ranks among the top five operators in the industry, following companies such as HanaTour, Modetour, Yellow Balloon, and Very Good Tour, with a market share of about 6%.

The Easy Members project was launched after about a year of review. Born in 1983, Lee graduated from Sungkyunkwan University with a degree in Systems Management and completed an MBA at KAIST. After working at Samsung SDS, he joined Kyowon Group in 2012 and has served as Head of Future Strategy and Head of Management Administration. He currently holds dual positions as Head of Business Planning at Kyowon Group’s Planning and Coordination Office and Head of Travel Planning at Kyowon Tour, overseeing the group’s mid- to long-term growth strategies and business innovation.

Recognized as a strategic expert within Kyowon Group, Lee has been leading the overhaul of growth strategies and profitability improvements at Kyowon Tour since taking over as Head of Travel Planning at the end of last year. Easy Members is also among the first strategic products he introduced.

Lee reflected, "The first question we asked when we began discussions was, 'Why aren’t there any paid memberships in the travel industry?'" He continued, "There has been a perception that memberships are difficult in travel since it is an infrequent purchase with long intervals, but from the customer’s perspective, the instant benefits felt at the moment of booking are more important."

In fact, internal research conducted during the planning phase revealed that Travel Easy’s core customer base—women in their 40s and 50s—showed strong interest in "immediate benefits" and "companion discounts." Based on these findings, Kyowon Tour designed the membership so that customers can experience benefits immediately upon joining.

He further explained, "While the traditional travel industry has spent marketing budgets on securing external channels, Easy Members reallocates part of that budget to customer benefits," adding, "The program is designed so that customers can naturally proceed to their next trip within the Travel Easy platform."

To achieve this, Kyowon Tour ensured that benefits are available immediately upon joining. Easy Members offers 120,000 points immediately usable upon sign-up, for an annual fee of 60,000 won. Recognizing the high demand for family and group travel, the company also provides companion discount coupons. After a trip, 5% of the product price is credited as points for the next journey. Notably, for the first time in the industry, a "full refund if unused" policy has been introduced—if a customer does not use the membership, the entire annual fee is refunded.

Jung Hyun Lee, Head of Travel Planning Division. Provided by Kyowon Tour.

Lee stated, "Recently, consumers care more about whether they are receiving value that exceeds the membership fee rather than simply low prices," and added, "It is designed so that customers can experience benefits exceeding the membership fee even with just one trip." He continued, "Because this is a paid service, gaining customer trust was paramount," noting that the full refund policy is also a measure to allow customers to try the service without risk.

Kyowon Tour’s goal with Easy Members is not to generate revenue from the membership itself. Lee explained, "Right now, what matters is not the size of membership sales but rather expanding our direct sales customer base and increasing repeat purchases," adding, "In the long term, we plan to grow it into a key business to enhance customer lifetime value."

Kyowon Tour also plans to expand personalized services using data from membership subscribers in the future. By analyzing customer travel types, preferred destinations, and companion arrangements, the company will recommend customized products. Lee stated, "For family travelers, we will suggest vacation season products; for those traveling with parents, we will recommend filial piety tours—this will allow for more sophisticated curation." He added, "In the long term, we are also considering differentiated benefits by customer type and the introduction of a premium membership." He emphasized, "Easy Members is not just a discount program but a membership service aimed at fostering long-term relationships with customers. It will serve as the foundation for transforming Kyowon Tour’s entire customer strategy."

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