Nol Universe said Tuesday that its global travel and entertainment booking platform Nol World recorded a record 2.64 million monthly active users in January, driven by an influx of Chinese tourists during the Lunar New Year holiday and K-pop concert ticketing.
The figure represents roughly a 33-fold increase from the same period last year and marks the highest monthly user count since the platform’s launch. Membership also grew rapidly, with about 300,000 new users joining in January to bring the total to more than 8.7 million.
In December, Nol World expanded beyond a ticketing-focused service and repositioned itself as a performance-based travel platform, allowing users to book accommodations, activities and transportation alongside concert tickets.
Following the revamp, the platform has seen a clear shift in user behavior, with many concertgoers also booking travel-related services. Some international users said securing tickets through Nol World was a primary reason for visiting Korea.
Purchases of tour and activity products in January increased about 20-fold compared with the same period last year. Platform data shows transportation-related services — including eSIM packages, the Arex and airport pickup services — recorded the highest number of bookings.
Bundled consumption combining concert attendance with local experiences is also gaining traction. Services such as Galaxy Ultra smartphone rentals, popular among concertgoers for their high-definition zoom function, and hanbok rental services have seen rising demand.
“Global users drawn by K-pop concerts are clearly moving beyond simple ticket purchases to booking transportation and local experiences,” a company official said.
stlee0329@heraldcorp.com
