Whether it's to seek thrilling new adventures, take in new sights and sounds, or just unwind, there are many reasons why we love visiting other countries. And with travel and music intersecting more frequently now, there is certainly no shortage of unique experiences to select from.

Earlier this year, The Ultimate K-pop Experience brought two guests from Europe closer than they had ever been before to K-pop during a once-in-a-lifetime vacation in Seoul. Created by Booking.com and KANGDANIEL, the experience saw the pair receive K-pop star treatment as they resided in a luxurious K-pop-themed suite, participated in a K-pop dance class, and got full makeovers by make-up artists and hairstylists who were known for working with big-name acts.

'The Ultimate K-pop Experience' is an immersive journey into the world of K-pop

Coming after Booking.com teamed up with American pop icon Mariah Carey for a Christmas-themed stay in New York in December 2022, The Ultimate K-pop Experience became the latest addition to the online travel agency's growing list of experiences carefully curated with music fans in mind when it was held from 31 August to 2 September.   

Aside from launching exclusive themed vacations, the Amsterdam-headquartered agency has stocked its site with a plethora of diverse activities that travellers can check out around the world should they wish to further immerse themselves in music and pop culture. 

Also in line with bridging travel and music is its recent collaboration with singer-songwriter Eric Nam for a new edition of its Explorers campaign. Through a series of short films featuring Nam in Hoi An and Bangkok, the 2023 iteration of Explorers seeks to inspire travellers to explore new travel possibilities.

"Our goal at Booking.com is to make it easier for travellers to shape their own extraordinary travel experiences - by offering personalisation and providing our users with the widest choice of accommodation options and unique experiences," said Booking.com's Asia Pacific Managing Director, Laura Houldsworth, in a press statement.

In an interview with Bandwagon prior to The Ultimate K-pop Experience's launch, Houldsworth talked about working with KANGDANIEL to put together The Ultimate K-pop Experience, bringing music and travel together, and leveraging opportunities presented by concert tourism. 

While conceptualising The Ultimate K-pop Experience, what were some interesting elements about K-pop that Booking.com felt should be woven into the final package? 

I think the key part for us is that Booking.com likes to delight our customers and our travellers with new experiences, and so the opportunity for us to launch something that is [themed after what is] now a global phenomenon (K-pop) is really exciting for us. And honestly, the fact that we were able to collaborate with a megastar like KANGDANIEL meant that we were able to really create something very special. 

We were able to look at it from all angles — so a multifaceted approach to an experience that is unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime, and [one that] money can't buy. We looked at it really holistically — we've got everything from the makeover to the dance classes so that we can really give the idol experience to our guests. But also, we give them access to M COUNTDOWN, so we're giving them also a priority pass to really get up close and personal [with K-pop idols]. And then we also have the karaoke opportunities in the room [to let them] really live like a K-pop idol.

Credit: YN Company

[There's also] all the KANGDANIEL merchandise that they will have access to — personalised content, a message from him, and curated memorabilia that they can take home. [It's] something holistic [that lets them] get up close and personal to the K-pop stars that they love and also live like one for a couple of days right in the heart of Seoul.

How did you ensure that the experience would be as authentic as possible for the two lucky guests? 

The heart of it you've got to get right. We first consulted with our Booking.com team here (in South Korea) — we have a large team here working on the Korean market. And then, we also engaged a leading entertainment agency, CJ ENM, so they've also been able to help make sure that it's very authentic. They work with K-pop stars, and so we're able to make it as real as possible. We also did a bit of a litmus test around APAC to see if what we're thinking actually would work, and the results are very positive. So I think and I hope that we've created something that is very special.

It has been mentioned that the price of the experience, USD$25.07, is a reference to KANGDANIEL’s debut date. This aside, what were some other reasons that led to this decision? 

Again, it's really about creating a money-can't-buy experience, and we don't want to make it exclusive to people who could afford to buy something special. At Booking.com, our mission is to make it easy for everyone to experience the world, and we really want to give [the opportunity to participate in] this type of experience to any type of fan. So it was really a fastest-finger-first approach and the price was nominal.

Speaking of KANGDANIEL, how did his involvement in The Ultimate K-pop Experience help to elevate the project?

When you tie up with a megastar, it's always helpful. [To ensure] that authenticity that you referred to earlier, we've taken his guidance and his approach also within the suite and within the experience. We have his memorabilia there and his clothing from his latest video is there. [There's] also even a recipe that shows the way that he likes to eat his ramyeon. We also align very closely with the type of person he is (obviously we're fans of his as well). And the music and way that he approaches things are very aligned with Booking.com and the experiences we want to give, so the partnership is very powerful.

Interest in K-pop and K-culture in general has been growing around the world over the years. Besides The Ultimate K-pop Experience, are there any other initiatives or campaigns that Booking.com has in store for K-pop and K-culture enthusiasts?

Yeah, absolutely. We can't stop here. This is just one of the experiences. And within Booking.com, obviously, we create unique experiences, but we also have transportation to allow you to travel, and then also attractions. So even within Seoul itself, we have The Ultimate K-pop Experience and we have a tour of the K-pop sites. We even have the BTS programme with In the Soop as well. So we have a number of attractions within Booking.com, where you can find unique experiences aligned to the K-pop culture. We also are launching the third edition of our Explorers campaign, of which we will work with another mega K-pop star. We will continue to work with the stars here to launch Booking.com more.

Tell us about some activities or attractions currently offered through Booking.com that fans of K-pop and K-culture should not miss out on when they visit South Korea.

There's also the movies, the Korean movies like Parasite. We also do tours at those sites. We do tours of BTS sites as well. So yeah, [there are] a lot of opportunities to really immerse yourself in the Korean culture. And as you mentioned, it's not a Korean thing; it's really an international phenomenon for which people are travelling far and wide. In fact, our winners of the stay are coming from Europe. It's very impressive to see that it's really a global phenomenon.

Outside of South Korea, what are some examples of experiences inspired by music that travellers can check out around the world?

There are a lot of unique experiences that we talked about like the ones that here are here for Korean culture — whether it is the sights and sounds of K-pop or the K-culture. We also work with local celebrities everywhere to give local experiences. With Booking.com, we have really realised that travel and music are very close to your life. It's all about the experience, and people do travel for music. So we also have a multi-year tie-up with Eurovision, for example, across Europe, which is a huge music event within Europe. We are the combination sponsor for Eurovision. 

We also work with the likes of Mariah Carey. We've done Mariah Carey [experiences] in New York, where you could book the ultimate stay during Christmas at Mariah Carey's home. We've also done the same in California, at her home. We also work with Melissa McCarthy, who is our brand ambassador. She also was recently in the new The Little Mermaid movie. And so we did an ultimate stay, where we did an Under The Sea experience for ultimate fans. We're always looking to make sure that we provide opportunities for fans — again, these money-can't-buy unique experiences — because we do believe that travel evokes memories, and that's what we want to create.

Just recently, we saw how music acts such as Coldplay and Taylor Swift could draw scores of visitors to a country just by announcing concerts in it. Where does Booking.com come in with regard to concert tourism?

We want to make sure that it's easy for travellers to experience the world at any time. Certainly given that people are travelling, like I said, to create memories, we see it as our opportunity or our obligation to make sure that they have opportunities to book what they want to do. So it means that we need to keep the breadth of supply available on the platform. We need to make it as easy as possible for them to make the reservation, and once in the city, to make sure that they can also experience other things or other types of attractions. 

For Singapore, for example, we know that it's there's a high demand for the dates that you mentioned — Coldplay and Taylor Swift early next year — and we even saw a tenfold increase in searches for the dates that Taylor Swift is playing versus the same time last year. So we know it drives a huge level of demand and our opportunities to make sure that we have what our travellers are looking for — the types of accommodation at the price point they want in, in the location that they need it to be. Making sure that we have the breadth of supply is critical for us.

This interview has been edited for clarity.