Interpark's airline ticket sales exceed $120 mn in March

South Korea’s online retail platform Interpark Corp. has reported its airline ticket sales in March jumped 281% compared to the same period last year. March is traditionally not peak season for travel. The data signals a robust rebound in travel demand, even when compared to pre-pandemic levels.

In a statement on Tuesday, Interpark disclosed that its international and domestic airline ticket sales in  March reached 161.3 billion won ($122 million), surpassing the previous record set in January. Japan led the surge in demand, accounting for 35% of total sales, followed by Vietnam (13%), the Philippines (7%), Thailand (6%) and Guam (5%).

The recent uptick in airline ticket sales has also surpassed levels seen in March 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Last month's sales marked a 48% increase compared to 109.9 billion won ($91 million) in March 2019.

Industry insiders attribute the boom to pent-up demand for overseas travel, which has been stifled for over three years due to the pandemic. The travel industry is witnessing a surge in demand across both off-peak and peak seasons.

According to Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, passenger traffic at Incheon International Airport in February soared tenfold to 3,723,059 from 318,588 for the same month in the previous year.

Although current passenger numbers have not yet reached the pre-pandemic level of 5,755,873 seen in the same month of 2019, experts predict that if the current trend in airline ticket reservations continues, the industry could return to similar levels by summer.

Write to Jin-Won Kim at jin1@hankyung.com