SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free has stepped up its efforts to boost international visitor numbers and spending.
The travel retailer last week hosted the 2023 Korea-China Tourism Exchange, an event that saw 120 Chinese travel agency officials invited to the Republic to sample three-night, four-day tour package products.
In related news, Lotte Duty Free has introduced a mobile real-time interpretation service to attract foreign tourists and enhance shopper convenience.
In August, Chinese group tours to the Republic were allowed for the first time in almost six and a half years – a hiatus caused firstly by the THAAD anti-missile system crisis between the two countries and secondly the pandemic. However, the anticipated rapid recovery of tourism has been slower than expected due to the economic downturn and rising prices.
The Chinese travel agency event highlighted popular Seoul attractions and Lotte Duty Free’s services.
The Chinese delegation, including representatives from major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Sichuan, visited South Korea on 18 October for a three-night, four-day itinerary. They visited Lotte Group tourism affiliates located in Jamsil, including Lotte World, Seoul Sky Observatory and the aquarium, along with Lotte Duty Free World Tower branch. In addition, they visited Lotte Duty Free’s just-opened LDF House showroom in Myeong-dong, Seoul.
The company organised a ‘Korea-China Tourism Exchange Night’ dinner event at Lotte Hotel World on 20 October. Lotte Duty Free CEO Kim Joo-nam graced the occasion and promised to strengthen partnerships with Chinese travel agencies.
Key officials from Hotel Lotte Corporation, including Kim Sang-min, head of Lotte Hotel’s domestic hotel division, and Park Mi-sook, Head of Lotte World’s marketing division, also attended.
Kim Joo-nam told guests, “Lotte Duty Free plans to take the lead in revitalising the inbound tourism market by establishing strong partnerships with local travel agencies. We will continue to carry out various marketing efforts to attract customers from China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.”
Removing the language barrier for foreign shoppers
Lotte Duty Free’s new mobile interpretation service – a first for Korean duty free – is designed to address the language barriers faced by overseas customers from key tourism source countries and regions such as Japan, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Until now, Lotte Duty Free has deployed multi-lingual guides in-store to help guide foreign customers. However, due to personnel and space constraints the service has been limited, leading to lost sales. The mobile translation system improves customer convenience and conversion rates, the company said.
Foreign customers who need translation simply need to scan the QR code provided in-store to connect one-on-one with a professional interpreter through a specialist platform company.
Seven languages, including English, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Malay and Arabic are being piloted for one month at Lotte Duty Free’s Myeong-dong flagship.
In the future, Lotte Duty Free plans to expand the number of languages, supplement the quality of service, and introduce it to all branches. ✈
