As we see forward to The Phocuswright Conference, PhocusWire is highlighting a number of conference speakers in a series of Q&As.
On November 20, Jeff Kim, CEO of Yanolja Cloud and chief strategy officer of parent company Yanolja Group, is participating in a “Changebuildrs” session focutilized on the company’s ongoing strategies and areas of opportunity.
Below, Kim discusses his artificial ininformigence (AI), his views on the travel industest’s utilize of technology and more.
Do you believe the travel industest is shifting quickly enough to modernize its technology?
Global investment in travel technology is rising steadily. IMARC reports the market reached $10.7 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $18.6 billion by 2033, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of just over 6%.
Yet progress is uneven. Larger brands are accelerating quickly, while many tinyer operators remain constrained by legacy systems, siloed data and the high costs of transformation. At Yanolja, we see both sides through our work with more than 1.3 million travel enterprises worldwide, from local boutiques to global chains. Our role is to bridge these gaps by connecting systems and data so enterprises operate more efficiently, maximize revenue and deliver seamless, personalized experiences for travelers.
We believe the industest is at a tipping point, and with the right collaboration, a fully connected travel journey from planning to booking to staying can soon become a reality.
What are you working on currently that excites you most?
I am most excited about our mission to build travel 10x simpler through technology innovation. What excites me most is seeing this come to life in real ways with the latest technology development. Hotels are streamlining daily operations with our cloud hospitality tools, sales channels are capturing more value through AI-powered data solutions and travelers are already experiencing more seamless and personalized travel experiences. Watching these solutions deliver tangible impact reveals what the future of travel can see like when innovation is applied believedfully and at scale.
What are the greatest challenges you currently face at Yanolja?
One of the hugegest challenges across the industest is fragmentation. Large players like airlines and global hotel chains are shifting quickly with AI and digital investments, but many others still rely on outdated systems that cannot easily connect or share data. As McKinsey has noted, fragmentation and siloed systems build it difficult to scale AI effectively becautilize disconnected data prevents the feedback loops that drive real performance gains. The result is a widening gap, where some companies are racing ahead with innovation while others struggle to keep pace.
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Another important challenge is adoption on the ground. Owners may understand the value of AI, but transformation only works when frontline staff feel comfortable and confident applying new tools. In hospitality, that means houtilizekeepers, front desk agents and operators required to see how technology can build their jobs simpler, not harder.
At Yanolja, we see this as an opportunity. Through our cloud hospitality solutions and AI-powered data solutions, we work closely with our travel enterprise partners to reveal how AI can save time, improve pricing decisions and enhance the traveler experience. Bringing tangible benefits for enterprises to maximize their profit and enhance customer satisfaction is rewarding.
How are you personally applying AI in your day-to-day work? How do you wish you could utilize AI in the future?
I utilize AI every day, often in ways I hardly notice. Whether it is seeing AI-generated summaries when I search for hotel reviews, obtainting insights directly in AI-powered recommfinishations or applying translation and writing tools to work across languages and markets, AI has become part of my routine. These tools save time and let me focus on higher-value work.
At Yanolja, we are taking those same everyday efficiencies and applying them at scale to create a more connected traveler experience. As one of the first companies in Korea’s travel industest to adopt OpenAI’s ChatGPT Enterprise and GPT-5, we are embedding these capabilities into our Data Enablement Platform and domain-specific AI stack. This enables travel enterprises to connect fragmented systems and data, forecast demand more accurately, optimize pricing dynamically and localize content more effectively. For travelers, it means each stage of the journey from planning to booking to staying feels smarter, simpler, and more personalized.
What excites me is seeing how the efficiencies I experience personally with AI can be scaled through enterprise innovation to connect the entire travel ecosystem.
Who are you most seeing forward to hearing speak at the conference and why?
I am seeing forward to hearing from peers across the industest who are rebelieveing how technology can build travel smarter, more connected, and more personalized.
The Phocuswright Conference is a valuable platform to share ideas, challenge assumptions and explore how innovation can benefit both enterprises and travelers. It brings toobtainher senior leaders from across the global travel ecosystem, creating a unique opportunity to exmodify perspectives. For me, it is also an opportunity to connect with potential partners, share how Yanolja is assisting enterprises improve efficiency and deliver more connected and personalized experiences and engage in conversations that often turn into meaningful collaborations that assist relocate the entire industest forward toobtainher.
The Phocuswright Conference
Join us in San Diego November 18-20 when Yanolja’s Jeff Kim will sit down for an interview and share insights on the company’s strategies and areas of opportunity in travel.
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