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Reuters, quoting The Moodie Report, reports on further structural changes to South Korea’s downtown duty free landscape |
SOUTH KOREA. As widely anticipated, the South Korean government is to issue more licences to operate downtown duty free shops, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung Hwan has revealed.
At the 33rd Ministerial Meeting on the Economy, Choi said the government would increase the number of downtown stores in operation. But he did not disclose how many new licences would be made available.
Commenting on the development, international news network Reuters said that the downtown duty free strategy had helped Korea “outstrip regional rivals in seeking to reel in”¦ Chinese tourists”.
The article quoted The Moodie Report Chairman Martin Moodie, who noted the influence and ability of South Korea’s retail giants not only at home but also, increasingly, abroad. “Lotte and Shilla’s particular strength lies in their understanding of the North Asian traveller, the Koreans naturally but more particularly the Chinese and the Japanese,” he noted, adding that Korean cosmetics, a particular strength of both retailers, “are arguably the hottest category in travel retail worldwide”.
South Korea is enjoying a prolonged wave of popularity with Chinese tourists, with visitor numbers on track to hit 6 million this year, up +39% from the 4.32 million arrivals in 2013, according to the Korea Tourism Organisation.
As reported, Japan also took an important step in enhancing its appeal to Chinese visitors last week, as it lifted consumption tax on many product categories for overseas tourists shopping at several domestic retail outlets.
In October 2012 the Korean government created new downtown duty free licences in 13 provinces to encourage tourism. There has been no indication where any further stores will be located.
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Accumulated figures of selected arrivals to South Korea by purpose and nationality for the seven months to July 2014 show the extraordinary rise in Chinese visitors; Source: Korea Tourism Organization /td> |
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The downtown operations of Shilla Duty Free (above) and Lotte Duty Free (below) have been the biggest beneficiaries of the Chinese tourism boom but others want a slice of the action. Today’s news suggests the government is determined to encourage their interest. |
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