Last year, Lotte Tourism Development launched a ‘US Masters Tournament Observation Package’ worth 50 million won per person. There was great concern that there would be demand for high-priced products during a slump in consumption, but it was unfounded. Last year, 12 people made reservations for this product, and all of them took off. An official from Lotte Tourism Development said, “The demand for VVIP customer experiences is solid regardless of the economy.”
While the domestic travel industry has shrunk overall, interest in ultra-expensive travel products has actually grown. According to the travel industry on the 11th, the highest price sold by Hana Tour’s high-end brand ‘Zeus World’ last year was 97.3 million won. It more than doubled from the highest price of 42.6 million won in 2024. This product is a European art travel package created at the request of an ultra-high net worth person. The same goes for other travel agencies. Representative examples include Shinsegae Department Store’s 150 million won ‘The First World Tour‘ and Modetour’s 19.99 million won Central and South American products.
On the other hand, there are a series of cases where sales of mid- to low-priced package products mainly used by the middle class are discontinued or reduced due to lack of customers. The travel industry estimated that last year, the number of reservations for popular resort destinations for the middle class, such as Guam and Saipan, decreased by more than 15%.
Reporter Ahn Jae-kwang ahnjk@hankyung.com
date: 2026-02-11 15:00:00