SEOUL, May 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Red ginseng was the most popular product among Chinese shoppers at Korea’s airport duty-free shops, according to a survey by Shinsegae Duty Free’s Incheon Airport branch. In addition, Japanese visitors favored dried laver products, while Southeast Asian tourists said they liked “Honey Butter Almond” products the most. According to [...]
SEOUL, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) – The operator of Incheon International Airport put up a notice of tender for the licenses to run duty-free shops at South Korea’s main gateway on Friday, it said, after retail giant Lotte decided to pull out following a plunge in the number of Chinese tourists. The business rights will be valid for five years, with the launch of [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – Speculation that the recently held 19th National Congress of China’s Communist Party would lead to a gradual easing of tensions between China and South Korea is building hope among local tourism and duty-free businesses. The relationship between the two neighboring countries turned icy after the installation of U.S. missile [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – A South Korean duty-free store will shut down this week amid a sharp drop in the number of Chinese tourists following a diplomatic row over the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system here, officials said Tuesday. Hana B&D, located at the Pyeongtaek port, some 70 kilometers south of [...]
SEOUL, July 3 (Korea Bizwire) – Hanwha Galleria Timeworld Co., a local duty-free operator, said Monday the company will pull out of a local airport next month amid a sharp drop in the number of Chinese tourists. In a regulatory filing, the duty-free operator said its store at Jeju Airport will shut down Aug. 31, [...]
SEOUL, June 1 (Korea Bizwire) – Amid fears of further Chinese economic retaliation over the South Korean deployment of a THAAD missile defense system, duty-free stores that were scheduled to open soon are scrambling to postpone their opening date. Last week, the Korea Duty Free Shops Association (KDFA) made an official request to the Korea Customs [...]
SEOUL, South Korea, March 23 (Korea Bizwire) – Graphic warning labels printed on tobacco packages will now be seen on packages of cigarettes sold at duty free shops. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance (MOSF) announced Wednesday that cigarette products exported from foreign countries for sale at duty free stores will also be subject to the [...]
SEOUL, March 19 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s tourism needs to revamp itself to reduce its dependency on China and grow into an industry that creates more added value, experts said Sunday, amid rising tension with the neighboring country over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system. Local tourism is expected to suffer a major [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean companies and duty-free shops remain jittery over China’s threats that the deployment of a high-tech U.S. missile defense battery on South Korean soil would wreak havoc on their business, industry sources said Thursday. With Seoul and Washington pushing ahead with the deployment in defiance of China’s strong [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – Make-up products accounted for more than half of the annual sales at duty-free shops in South Korea last year, fueled by brisk demand from foreign tourists immersed in Korean entertainment culture, data showed Thursday. The combined cosmetics revenue from duty-free chains, including top players Lotte Duty Free and Shilla [...]