A duty-free store in Seoul is crowded with Chinese visitors. [Photo by Namgung-jinwoong = timeid@]
South Korea will open six more duty-free shops, including four in Seoul, as big-spending Chinese tourists rush in again after hanging a leg for fear of a highly contagious disease last year, officials said Friday.
The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said four undecided retailers would get new duty-free licenses in Seoul on top of nine in operation, and one each in the southern port city of Busan and in Gangwon province.
"The issuance of new licenses is aimed at laying the foundation for shopping by Chinese tourists," Lee Myung-Koo, a senior KCS official, told reporters.
KCS data showed total sales at South Korean duty-free stores, mostly run by retail giants such as Lotte Group, surged from 5.3 trillion won in 2011 to 9.19 trillion won in 2015.
South Korea received some 9.97 million foreign tourists including 2.2 million Chinese in 2011 and 14.2 million tourists including 6.1 million Chinese in 2014. But the number of foreign tourists dwindled to 13.23 million including 5.98 million Chinese last year due to a Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak.
As of end-March, 3.59 million foreign tourists including 1.67 million Chinese have arrived in South Korea, up 12.1 percent from a year ago. Lotte's duty-free chain said Chinese tourists now make up about 70 percent of sales.
Lee predicted duty-free shops are expected to attract 6.93 million clients in 2017, as South Korea's runaway hit drama "Descendants of the Sun" which aired the final episode on April 14 created a sensation in Asia, reigniting South Korea's pop culture fever "Hallyu".
He played down concern about oversupply saying more tourists are expected to visit South Korea this year thanks to a fresh "Hallyu" boom.
About 8,000 workers from China's JM (Joymain) group handling health supplement will visit Seoul in early May on a five-day reward vacation.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
