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Experts Call for Overhaul on Tourism amid THAAD Row

Experts Call for Overhaul on Tourism amid THAAD Row

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 [...]

S. Korean Firms Fret About China’s THAAD Threat

S. Korean Firms Fret About China’s THAAD Threat

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 [...]

Cosmetics Products Drive up Duty-Free Sales

Cosmetics Products Drive up Duty-Free Sales

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 [...]

Misbehaving Few Cast Chinese Tourists in a Bad Light

Misbehaving Few Cast Chinese Tourists in a Bad Light

SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – Chinese tourists have become an indispensable asset for domestic tourism, accounting for roughly 60 percent of all individual travelers to Korea, and over half of all customers at local duty-free stores.  But as is the case for all popular tourist destinations, misbehaviors and an apparent lack of respect for [...]

Duty-Free Shops’ Commission to Travel Agencies Nearly Double in 2016

Duty-Free Shops’ Commission to Travel Agencies Nearly Double in 2016

SEJONG, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – Commission fees given by duty-free shops to travel agencies increased sharply to reach nearly 1 trillion won (US$872.4 million) last year on heated competition to attract more foreign travelers, customs data showed Thursday.  Twenty-two local duty-free operators paid a combined 967.2 billion won to tourist agencies and guides in [...]

Government Imposes Higher Commission on Duty-Free Store Operators

Government Imposes Higher Commission on Duty-Free Store Operators

SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – Operating a duty-free store is a highly lucrative venture, and the few five-year licenses granted by the government are usually hotly contested. However, authorities have finally decided to raise the special commission imposed on duty-free store operators, which has been frequently criticized for being unusually low, by up to [...]

New Duty-Free Stores in Seoul Suffer Deficit

New Duty-Free Stores in Seoul Suffer Deficit

SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – The duty-free stores that have newly opened in Seoul have seen operating losses this year as heavy marketing costs in the highly competitive market eroded their profitability, their financial documents showed Wednesday.  Five duty-frees stores opened new shops in the capital city after winning licenses in two bids — [...]

Duty-Free Sales up 36.4 Pct in First Nine Months

Duty-Free Sales up 36.4 Pct in First Nine Months

SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – Sales at South Korea’s duty-free stores rose 36.4 percent in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier on increased buying by foreign tourists, especially Chinese, data showed Thursday.  Sales at 50 duty-free stores nationwide came to 8.93 trillion won (US$7.9 billion) in the January-September period, [...]

Duty-Free Stores Embrace Younger Chinese Customers

Duty-Free Stores Embrace Younger Chinese Customers

SEOUL, Oct. 18 (Korea Bizwire) – Chinese travelers in their 20s and 30s have emerged as the key customers for South Korean duty-free stores as they are enticed by Korean pop culture and shopping experiences here, industry officials said Monday.  Local duty-free shops in the past mostly generated revenue from middle-aged Chinese travelers who bought [...]