CreatripTeam

Naver, Korea’s dominant map provider, is moving to capture inbound tourism by building a one-stop “tourism super app” that links Naver Map with its booking (Naver Reservation) and payment (Naver Pay) services. The company recently joined the public–private Korea Visit Year Committee (한국방문의해위원회), signaling a major push into the travel sector. Because foreign map data export is restricted in Korea, global services like Google Maps have gaps in walking and driving directions—an opening Naver filled by strengthening English, Chinese and Japanese support. In 2023 Naver Map led usage among foreign visitors (56.2% vs Google Maps 33.9%). Naver plans to use location and interest data to suggest reservations and seamless payments, creating a lock-in effect, and is expanding via “open collaboration” with travel firms such as HanaTourITC to sell K-culture tours and let small local businesses join the platform. Traditional travel companies see new distribution opportunities but worry about dependence on Naver and potential fee burdens from platform dominance.