It is because of’hope’ and’confidence’ that My Real Trip can withstand the long tunnel called Corona 19. The faces of employees are bright. On the 31st, one day before the new year, CEO Dong-gun Lee (center of the front row) and staff are drawing a’finger heart’ as they pledge a strong start at the headquarters office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Reporter Huh [email protected]
“At this rate, there is exactly one year left until the company closes.”
Last April, when the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) situation turned to a’pandemic’. Lee Dong-gun, CEO of My Real Trip, summoned over 100 employees through a video conference and said this. Employees’ facial expressions quickly distorted. The next-generation travel industry leader, the’innovation icon’, which was under the envy and checks of competitors, was an unimaginable power.
CEO Lee shared the company situation’as is’. The monthly transaction amount plummeted from 52 billion won in January last year to 1 billion won in April. It was at the time when the headhunters were carrying out the’Operation to get rid of My Real Trip employees’. Nevertheless, the reason Lee shared the situation was to say this. “It may be difficult right now. But if we face and overcome the crisis head-on, there will be even greater opportunities.”
“Crisis is an opportunity”
The recession from Corona 19 has hit the travel industry directly. Medium-sized companies, such as NHN Travel Doctorate, Free Tour, and Lotte Tourism Development, have started restructuring. Small and medium-sized travel agencies have taken steps to close their business. 1069 travel agencies closed until the third quarter of last year (Korea Tourism Association).
My Real Trip, which stood on the edge of the cliff, had to be chosen. Advice poured out that the staff should be removed immediately. My Real Trip, however, went the opposite way. Not a single one was thrown out. There was no unpaid leave. On the contrary, I put a super strong push to increase hiring. The belief that’opportunities will come to companies that build competence in crisis and prepare for the future’ spread among employees.
Representative Lee said, “I tried to see the big picture. After the financial crisis in 1997 and the financial crisis in 2008, changes in the travel industry were noticeable.” During the 1997 financial crisis, companies that did not cut their manpower, such as Hana Tour, quickly gained market dominance in the recovery market immediately after the recession. After the 2008 financial crisis, foreign travel companies such as Booking.com and Agoda, which aggressively expanded their business based on online, have emerged as dominants in the domestic market, unlike domestic companies that were not prepared. This is what CEO Lee paid attention to.
Find a way in technology development
To prepare for the post-corona era, My Real Trip focused on technology development. This is to enhance the function of recommending personalized products based on artificial intelligence (AI). People who were thirsty for travel after Corona 19 thought they would want a more dense travel. Rather than simply recommending cheap products, it attempted to build a platform that shows products suitable for travelers’ tastes by subdividing content, price, and time with advanced algorithms. To this end, the development manpower was increased from 40 to 70. We also had to build a position to hold up the barley pass. An alternative to fill the gap in overseas travel products was found in domestic travel. At the beginning of last year, the number of Jeju Island products was increased from just 700 to 3,000. “I focused on Jeju Island, which is the best destination to feel like traveling abroad,” said CEO Lee. The local guided tour products that were experienced only in overseas trips, tourists said,’I feel like traveling abroad.’ The ability to develop’high-concentration’ travel products that eliminated all bubbles such as shopping that consumers don’t want showed power in Korea. Last year, the number of products sold on a single route to Jeju Island exceeded the total number of overseas travel sales in 2019.
They also launched overseas LAN tour products. Local guides communicate with viewers in real time and introduce travel destinations. “Last year, day and night, the last year was a time when the company members poured out their head-to-head ideas,” Lee recalled. The’loyalty’ of more than 4,000 overseas local guides who were worried about their livelihoods became solid.
The pain we endured’together’, the hope that came back
The turnaround began when investors started shooting support. Investors responded to My Real Trip’s vision and struggle. Last July, when the corona was in full swing, 43.2 billion won came into the company. Existing investors such as Smilegate Investments, Altos Ventures, IMM Investment, as well as new investors such as Korea Development Bank and Tekton Ventures have bet on the possibility of My Real Trip. The corporate value has increased again and again than before the coronavirus. The investment industry’s message is that the corporate value, which was 90 billion won at the time of the previous investment, jumped to 210 billion won. An official of Altos Ventures said, “My Real Trip’s capabilities and business model are more robust than anywhere else,” and “I thought that if the immediate crisis was passed, a greater opportunity would come.”
It is at this point that the light of the virtuous cycle has begun to appear. My Real Trip began to actively expand its business, and the situation gradually improved. Thanks to the popularity of domestic travel products and LAN tours, the monthly transaction amount increased from 1 billion won in April last year to 10.5 billion won in December. In the meantime, the number of employees ranged from 110 to 130. AI product recommendation technology has been highly advanced, and with the development of the Corona 19 vaccine, the clock until the resumption of overseas travel, which was only vague, is accelerating. Representative Lee said, “The amount of transactions created with domestic products will continue after Corona 19. We are confident that many domestic customers who experienced the attractiveness of differentiated products will be connected to overseas product customers after Corona 19”
My Real Trip went one step further to win-win with business partners. In November last year, it invested in Guy Drive, a’partner’ who planned the LAN tour together. LANSUN TOUR insisted on a paid service in order to relieve the breathlessness of local guides who had a livelihood. Usually, when starting a service, it’s the opposite of launching a free service to acquire users. CEO Lee said, “I have to live together to create greater synergy and pursue a bigger dream.” “I will be with my partners until the end of Corona 19.”
Reporter Mingi Koo [email protected]