Dream Tower Casino, a casino that caters exclusively to foreigners on South Korea's Jeju Island, was packed with Chinese tourists playing baccarat at around 4 p.m. on Monday. The high-stakes betting area in the back of the casino was already full, and screens buzzed noisily as people placed their bets.
Jeju's tourism industry is enjoying a long-awaited boost as Chinese tourists flock to the island in groups after the Chinese government lifted pandemic-era restrictions on tour groups traveling to Korea.
The island's duty-free shops and casinos, which suffered a downturn during the pandemic, are experiencing a rebound as Chinese tourists return to Jeju for the first time in 6 years and 5 months. Jeju Island permits foreign visitors to stay visa-free for 30 days.
The easing of travel restrictions around the world brought on a post-pandemic international travel boom, and as more Koreans take trips overseas to Japan and Southeast Asia, Chinese tourists are filling the gap left by Koreans who used to visit Jeju Island.
Chinese tourists started returning to Jeju when airlines resumed direct (non-stop) flights between mainland China to Jeju Island in March after China eased its 'zero-covid' policy earlier this year. This was followed by thousands of cruise tourists after the ban on group tours was lifted in August.
The influx of tourists is driving up sales for casinos. The amount of money exchanged for chips at the Dream Tower Casino reached 132.8 billion won last month - a record high. The number of visitors increased from 27,055 in July to 28,734 in August.
Dream Tower Casino has a total of 414 gaming facilities, including 190 slot machines, 145 gaming tables, and 71 electronic table games. The casino is operated by Jeju Dream Tower Complex, which is owned by the Korean travel agency Lotte Tour Development.
Dream Tower is also host to Grand Hyatt Jeju, which has a total of hotel 1,600 rooms, 14 restaurants and bars, and a shopping mall called Han Collection.
When the casino first opened in June 2021, the amount of money exchanged for chips stalled at an average of 26.3 billion won until May 2022. Once direct flights from China to Jeju resumed, sales quickly recovered, with the amount of money exchanged for chips exceeding 100 billion won for the first time in May.
"Jeju Island has the advantage of allowing foreigners to enter the island visa-free, so customers who love casinos are visiting the island. As a Macau-style casino, 80-90 percent of our customers are from China," a representative of Dream Tower Casino said.
"It's hard to find an empty table during peak hours after 10 p.m., and customers often line up to bet at popular tables."
Grand Hyatt Jeju's sales also surged to a record high of 14.52 billion won in August. The occupancy rate of foreigners hit 58 percent last month, nearly 6 times more than in August of 2022. More than 1450 rooms have been booked during the upcoming Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival holiday period, which begins on Sep. 29. and ends on Oct. 9. The occupancy rate is expected to reach 90 percent by then.
The island's duty-free industry is also showing signs of revival. The Shilla Duty Free stores were overflowing with Chinese tourists on a shopping spree around noon on Wednesday. Chinese visitors, spread out all over the floor, were organizing their purchases in groups.
At the neighboring Lotte Duty Free in Jeju, Chinese tourists lined up in popular stores that sold cosmetics brands that had recently gone viral. Lotte Duty Free's Chinese tourist sales increased by 16 percent during Mar. 23-29, compared to the previous week. Around 300 Chinese cruise tourists visited Lotte Duty Free and Shilla Duty Free in that period.
"We are seeing an increase in Chinese cruise tourists and the proportion of individual Chinese travelers is also quite high," said a representative of Shilla Duty Free. "Although the numbers are still less than half of what it was before the pandemic, recovery is much faster than in Seoul thanks to Jeju's visa-free policy."
Nuwemaru Street (formerly Baozen Street), near Shilla Duty Free, is also expecting a rebound with the return of Chinese tourists. Chinese tourists in groups of 3-4 were roaming the streets on Thursday, looking at maps on their smartphones for directions. The glass walls of nearby shops are plastered with signs written in Chinese.
"After the Chinese government lifted travel restrictions, shops that have been suffering from declining sales are forward to making big profits again," said an employee at a pharmacy.
Jeju's tourism industry is hoping that the influx of Chinese tourists will gain traction in the fourth quarter, leading to a boost in sales. By the end of the year, 91 Chinese cruise ships are expected to visit the Island.
Direct flights between China and Jeju, currently only half of pre-pandemic levels are projected to gradually increase. Jeju Island plans to cooperate with airlines to expand the number of flights to 157 destinations in 17 regions by the end of this year and to more than 200 destinations in 18 routes next year.
However, people in the tourism industry are worried that the purchasing power of Chinese tourists may have weakened considering China's recent economic downturn. Some experts are skeptical that the number of Chinese group tours, which reached 3.06 million in 2016, will return to similar levels soon.
Industry insiders have pointed out that Chinese tourists, who used to purchase three to four times more than the average foreign visitor, no longer spend as much. The rise of Chinese domestic brands, growth in online shopping, and changes in the preferences of Chinese tourism have contributed to this trend.
"Chinese tourists used to have more of a 'let's buy everything' attitude, which is no longer the case," said a salesperson at a downtown duty-free shop. "I think China's economic woes are also affecting tourist spending."
"Since Jeju Island is a visa-free zone, the island will certainly have the fastest and largest influx of visitors in the fourth quarter," said Lee Hoon, a professor at Hanyang University's School of Tourism.
"However, it's crucial that Jeju's tourism industry works to improve the quality of tourism, instead of just focusing on the number of visitors. We need to look into past mistakes so that tourism in Jeju Island can evolve."
This article was originally published on Sept. 21, 2023.