Frip Awarded Middle East Expansion Support Program, Targets Saudi Tourism Market

Frip, which operates the domestic leisure and experience platform 'Frip,' has signaled its entry into the Middle Eastern market with innovative tourism and AI-converged services. It was ultimately selected as a leading company in the tourism sector for the '2025 SME Middle East Entry Support Project,' co-organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Saudi Arabia. Among a total of 27 companies chosen across four key areas including AI and bio-health, Frip was highly praised for its AI recommendation engine, which provides personalized experiences to foreign tourists, and its multilingual service capabilities. Beyond a simple booking function, Frip has focused on utilizing its advanced AI recommendation engine to propose experience products that perfectly match the individual tastes and interests of visitors. It is particularly recognized for opening new horizons for K-Travel by focusing on discovering unique and attractive Korean content such, as K-beauty/wellness, K-culture, and hiking in the vicinity of Seoul, and connecting them to the global market. Data analysis-based tourism trend prediction and personalized recommendation services are leading the digital transformation of the tourism industry and setting the standard for future travel experiences. This selection for the support project is even more significant because it goes beyond simple corporate support, representing the first 'inter-governmental cooperation-based' entry model where Saudi Arabian government agencies directly participated in the company selection process. In the second half of this year, Frip plans to directly visit Saudi Arabia to participate in strategic networking with key government agencies and investors, including the Saudi Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Red Sea Global, and HUMAIN, the comprehensive AI agency. This is expected to be a crucial stepping stone for K-startups to contribute to the exponential growth of the tourism industry in the Middle East and deepen cooperative relations between the two countries. A Frip official expressed the ambition to “create a new standard for global travel by combining AI technology with Korea’s unique tourism content,” emphasizing that “this entry into the Middle East will serve as an opportunity to further elevate the status of K-startups and be at the forefront of introducing the potential for innovation in the Korean tourism industry to the world stage.” The Middle East, where large-scale tourism development policies like Saudi Vision 2030 and active investments are underway, is drawing attention as a new growth engine and a boundless field of opportunity for Korean tourism technology companies. Frip’s latest achievement will be a significant milestone for K-tourism technology to gain recognition and spread in the global market.