MyRealTrip
Overview
MyRealTrip (마이리얼트립) is a South Korean travel and activity booking platform founded in 2012. It offers a single place to book services needed throughout a trip, including flights, accommodations, tours and activities, and transportation passes, and it is particularly strong in local activities and customized travel products. As a travel tech company, it has grown into an O2O platform that connects domestic and international travelers with local suppliers through its mobile app and website.
Key Details
Founding Background and History
MyRealTrip is a startup founded in 2012 by CEO Lee Jung-min (이정민), and it began as a brokerage service for booking local tours and activities. Moving away from a market centered on package products from established travel agencies, it focused on making it easy for individual travelers to book the local experiences they wanted. It later added flight and accommodation booking services, expanding its business into a comprehensive travel platform. In the late 2010s, it secured users by greatly increasing activity products in popular overseas destinations such as Japan and Southeast Asia.
Services and Business Model
Its main services are flight booking, accommodation booking, tour and activity booking, and travel add-on services such as transportation passes, SIM cards, and Wi-Fi. Users can select a destination and date in the app to compare and book a variety of products, and they can check reliability through reviews and ratings. Its revenue model is based on booking fees, advertising, and partnerships with suppliers. It also provides differentiated travel experiences through its own curated products and a local guide matching service.
Major Investments and Growth
MyRealTrip has expanded its business through multiple rounds of investment. Beginning with Series A and B investments in the mid-2010s, it is known to have received cumulative investments worth tens of billions of won through the early 2020s. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it suffered from a sharp drop in travel demand, but after the endemic phase, transaction volume grew rapidly as overseas travel demand recovered. In 2023, its performance improved significantly thanks to the recovery of the travel market, and in 2024 it recorded a quarterly profit, working to secure profitability.
Competitive Landscape and Differentiators
It competes with domestic and international online travel platforms such as Yanolja (야놀자), Yeogi Eottae (여기어때), Klook (클룩), and KKday. MyRealTrip presents as differentiators its curation specialized in local activities and experience products, reliability based on user reviews, and mobile-centered convenience. It has also strengthened its supply chain in major destinations such as Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe while focusing on domestic travelers' demand for overseas travel.
Latest Trends
Since 2024, MyRealTrip has been advancing its services by introducing personalized recommendation services and travel planner features using AI technology. Representative examples include features that recommend travel itineraries or suggest customized products based on generative AI. In 2025, it plans to expand its push into overseas markets and increase direct partnerships with local suppliers to strengthen product competitiveness as it seeks to become a global online travel agency (OTA). It is also broadening its user base by expanding differentiated content such as sustainable travel and themed activities.
Related Topics
- [[Yanolja]]
- [[Yeogi Eottae]]
- [[Klook]]
- [[Online Travel Agency]]
- [[Travel Industry]]