With the Lunar New Year holiday in China lasting a record nine days, an influx of Greater China tourists appears to have given a boost to related sectors in Korea, including retail and hotels.
According to the retail industry on the 22nd, Lotte Department Store saw record sales from Greater China tourists during the Lunar New Year period. Lotte Department Store said that from the 13th, when it began its Lunar New Year promotion, to the 18th, sales to foreign customers rose 120% from the same period last year. Sales to customers from Greater China, including China and Taiwan, increased 260%, the highest ever for the Lunar New Year period.
During the same period, foreign-customer sales at Lotte Department Store's main branch increased 180%. In the beauty category, foreign-customer sales rose 80%. Among Greater China customers, sales of sports and outdoor goods increased 255%.
At Lotte Town Jamsil, sales to foreign customers rose 80%, and at Lotte World Mall, food and beverage (F&B) sales to foreign customers increased 85%.
The Lotte Tourist Membership Card, which Lotte Department Store launched late last year for foreign customers, surpassed a cumulative 38,000 issuances. About 3,000 of those were issued during the Lunar New Year period.
A Lotte Department Store official said, "With the spread of K-culture, demand for travel to Korea is growing rapidly, clearly increasing foreign customer inflows," adding, "In line with this, strengthening Lunar New Year–focused promotions and customer experience–centered marketing led to meaningful results."
Lotte Duty Free also said that from the 13th to the 18th, sales to foreign customers increased about 69% compared with the Lunar New Year period last year. Of that, sales to foreign independent travelers (FIT) rose 82%, while sales to package tour groups increased 61%.
Hotels and casinos in Jeju, a favored destination for Greater China tourists, also enjoyed a boom. At Grand Hyatt Jeju inside the Jeju Dream Tower integrated resort operated by Lotte Tour Development, 1,590 of the total 1,600 rooms were filled during the Lunar New Year period, effectively reaching full occupancy. The maximum occupancy rate during last year's Lunar New Year period was 72%.
Earlier, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) projected that up to 190,000 Chinese tourists would visit Korea during this year's Lunar New Year holiday (Feb. 15–23). That is a 44% increase from the daily average during last year's Lunar New Year period.