Lee Sun-kyun, Zico, and Lee Si-eon are also sluggish, who says travel entertainment is HOT?

With the end of COVID-19, travel entertainment is booming. Each broadcasting company is churning out a ton of travel entertainment, but the viewer ratings seem to be struggling.

Currently, more than 10 travel entertainment programs are being aired on both terrestrial and general channels. However, there is only one broadcast that exceeded the 'major 3%' rating. tvN’s ‘Outside the Tent: Europe, Spain’. The remaining broadcasts are all above the 1-2% viewer rating range.

In particular, SBS' 'School Trip Without Math' (hereinafter referred to as 'School Trip'), which is said to have the best lineup ever, is targeting the low to mid 1% range. D.O., Zico, Crush, Choi Jeong-hoon, Lee Yong-jin, and Yang Se-chan are appearing in ‘Susukhaeng’.

Although it features members who are greatly loved by those in their 20s and 30s, it is unable to avoid poor viewership ratings. On the 23rd of last month, the viewer rating was 1.1%, and was in danger of falling to 0%.

'A Very Private Southeast Asia' by actors Lee Sun-kyun, Kim Nam-hee, and Kim Do-hyun, who lead the Korean film industry, and director Jang Hang-jun, also exceeds the 2% range. In the first broadcast, it exceeded '3% of the devil', but it showed a sharp decline from the 3rd episode.

KBS2's 'Walking Into the Haunt' (hereinafter referred to as 'Walking into the Haunt'), which features a new guest every time, is also recording an average of 2%. In the beginning, Seo Dong-ju and Kim Seung-hyun's family appeared and created a lot of buzz, but now the level of attention has dropped significantly.

Some pointed out that the reason for the decline in viewership ratings was that “it’s just a program that sends celebrities on trips.” Through this program, Oh Na-mi and Park Min went on a honeymoon in Bali, while Moon Hee-jun and So-yul enjoyed a trip to Guam with their families.

Producer Kim Seong-min explained the intention behind the program, saying, "'Fantasy' is defined by three words: everyday life, fantasy, and fantasy. It is a travel program that well mixes the dissonance between families that they encounter while traveling abroad." However, what ‘Geolhwanjang’ showed was just ‘daily life, fantasy, and luxury.’

The same broadcaster's 'Battle Trip 2' is struggling in the 1% range following 'Battle Trip 1'. The larger format is similar to ‘Geolhwanjang’. What sets it apart is that the cast travels in person and provides ‘travel information’.

tvN's 'Busan Village Boy in Sydney', which started on the 23rd, recorded a viewership rating of 2.0%. Although it is differentiated by having actors from Busan go on a working holiday in Australia, it falls within the larger framework of travel entertainment. This is because it is expected that they will show overseas scenery, communicate with foreigners, and enjoy traveling on their days off.

Overseas travel entertainment has started again, but the viewership ratings are miserable. Although each program has its own small differences, viewers cannot help but feel bored with similar formats. Moreover, whenever you turn on the TV, travel entertainment shows come out all over the place. ‘School Trip Without Math’, ‘Europe Outside the Tent’, ‘Clear Returns’, and ‘World Travel on Earth’ all aired in early March. In fact, only the star lineup is different.

Demand for travel that could not be taken due to COVID-19 has exploded, but travel programs are not able to keep up. Viewers expected a new type of travel entertainment different from before COVID-19, but broadcasters are producing travel entertainment programs with a similar format as if they had been waiting for them. Sometimes courageous investments or experimental content are needed rather than repetition of existing formats. This is why it is pointed out that ‘freshness’ is needed to regain lost viewers.

Ryu Ye-ji, Ten Asia Reporter ryuperstar@tenasia.co.kr