Attend 'Son Heung-min's Match' and Run the Great Wall of China... Nol Universe's Transformation

Nol Universe Announces Strategic Shift in Package Business on June 24
Dual-Track Approach: In-House Package Development and External Agency Brokerage
Strengthening Proprietary Packages While Expanding Sales of Curated Third-Party Products

Nol Universe is expanding its package tour offerings by leveraging fandom and personal interests. Rather than focusing on the destinations themselves, the company plans to strengthen the profitability of its package business through travel products centered on individual interests and hobbies, such as attending sports events like soccer and baseball games, participating in overseas marathons, and joining various festivals.

On June 24, Nol Universe announced at a meeting that it will shift away from the previous approach of mixing directly operated and external products, and instead reorganize its package business structure for greater efficiency. The company explained that it will pursue a dual-track strategy: enhancing in-house developed overseas package tours, while expanding sales of popular packages by brokering and offering outstanding products from external travel agencies on its platform.

Hanjung Hyup, Head of Package Business Division at Nol Universe, is speaking during a meeting on the package business strategy reorganization on the 24th. Provided by Nol Universe

In particular, Nol Universe has reorganized its internal structure to focus on high-profit and highly differentiated package businesses, and will strengthen its so-called Special Interest Tourism (SIT) offerings, which emphasize "what you do" rather than "where you go."

Nol Universe's current SIT packages include experience-driven content such as attending sporting events—soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis—as well as traveling to participate in overseas marathons. The company also offers products based on hands-on leisure sports, including running, trekking, and camping.

In fact, in March 2024 and February of this year, Nol Universe organized overseas supporter tour packages for the Doosan Bears, taking about 200 fans on away game trips. Additionally, in February, the company operated a sports tour package centered on the Major League Soccer (MLS) season opener featuring national football star Son Heung-min. About 900 people visited the United States through this themed product, making it the largest of its kind in Korea, according to Nol Universe.

Nol Universe reported that in the first quarter of this year, sales of sports-related products increased by 770% compared to the same period last year. The company also noted that the average purchase conversion rate for sports products was around 30%. Nol Universe assessed that travel based on fandom is expanding beyond simply watching games to include supporter groups and package products.

Alongside this, Nol Universe is also running SIT packages for global festivals, concerts, and other events, as well as themed tours centered on specific interests—such as history, gastronomy, drawing, and art—offered in collaboration with experts. Currently available or planned SIT packages include the "Great Wall Marathon in China," "Fuji Rock Festival & Camping," "Chinese Drama Pilgrimage," "Taiwan Drawing Tour with Urban Sketch Experts," and "Baekdusan Trail Running with Former National Athletes."

Hang Junghyup, Head of the Package Business Division at Nol Universe, stated, "People won't go for cheap packages, but they are willing to pay more for quality ones. The focus of tourism spending is shifting from quantity to quality, and from place to experience, with differentiated content now leading the market."

According to ConsumerInsight, a consumer research firm, the proportion of travelers choosing independent travel reached a record high of 65% last year, while group package selection dropped to 27%, down 4% year-on-year. Nol Universe analyzed that travelers in their 20s to 40s prefer independent travel over packages, and even the senior customers who traditionally favored group package tours are increasingly booking individually as their information-gathering abilities improve.

The company also observed a trend toward higher value-added offerings, with premium package products now accounting for more than half of all packages. Demand for Southeast Asia packages priced under 500,000 won is declining, while demand is rising for themed, no-tip, no-option packages in the 1.5 million to 2 million won range.

As a representative SIT example, the Son Heung-min MLS opener package offered by Nol Universe had an average per-person price of around 6 million won. Considering that general package tours of the United States are typically priced at about 3.5 million won, the cost to travelers has increased significantly. The Japan Nagasaki SIT package, which included a fan meeting and basketball exchange with an active professional basketball player, was priced at 1.5 to 1.7 million won, well above the average 800,000 to 1 million won for standard packages, according to Hang Junghyup.

Nol Universe is expanding its fandom- and interest-driven package business to improve profitability. Hang Junghyup explained, "General package products involve high sales channel commissions, so the actual profit is not very large. But after operating the SIT team for the past year, we've seen profit margins exceed 10%, making these high value-added products from an operating profit perspective." He added, "Currently, SIT products account for 18% of Nol Universe's package offerings (as of the first quarter), and we plan to increase this to over 20% going forward."

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