Can Visa-Free Rules For China Lift Spending At Duty-Free Retailers In South Korea?
The post Can Visa-Free Rules For China Lift Spending At Duty-Free Retailers In South Korea? appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Group effort: Lotte Duty Free has a long history in attracting group visitors. Here are approximately 4,000 Chinese incentive tourists visiting its Myeongdong flagship store last year. Lotte Duty Free South Korea’s duty-free retailers, which have suffered from poor sales recoveries in the post-Covid era, including this year, might have an easier time as a visa-free scheme for Chinese travelers comes into effect from Monday (September 29). Under the revised set-up, the complex visa application process—which previously required five business days—has been simplified and now takes just 24 hours prior to departure as a visa-free option. It applies to Chinese tourists traveling as part of a group to South Korea, and makes it easier for them to book later, and/or find last-minute trips to Seoul and other cities in the country. It is a sign of the times, and a sense of urgency, that the biggest travel retailer in the market, Lotte Duty Free has pounced on the change. CEO Kim Dong-ha, in post since November 2024 and recently-elected president of the influential Korea Duty Free Association, said that his company “will begin welcoming Chinese group tourists in earnest” from the 29th. Lotte moves fast on visa changes The first beneficiaries are cruise travelers on the Dream Cruise Line from Tianjin, China. Approximately 1,700 passengers, among the 2,000 who are onboard the ship, will take advantage of the visa-free policy (which has already come into effect due to a time difference of 13 hours between New York and Seoul). Those travelers will visit Lotte Duty Free’s main downtown store in the tourist hub of Myeongdong in Seoul, Korea’s capital city. The Dream Cruise Line is scheduled to dock at Incheon Port, close to where the country’s main airport is also located. As well as Myeongdong, the cruise tourists will visit…
The post Can Visa-Free Rules For China Lift Spending At Duty-Free Retailers In South Korea? appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Group effort: Lotte Duty Free has a long history in attracting group visitors. Here are approximately 4,000 Chinese incentive tourists visiting its Myeongdong flagship store last year. Lotte Duty Free South Korea’s duty-free retailers, which have suffered from poor sales recoveries in the post-Covid era, including this year, might have an easier time as a visa-free scheme for Chinese travelers comes into effect from Monday (September 29). Under the revised set-up, the complex visa application process—which previously required five business days—has been simplified and now takes just 24 hours prior to departure as a visa-free option. It applies to Chinese tourists traveling as part of a group to South Korea, and makes it easier for them to book later, and/or find last-minute trips to Seoul and other cities in the country. It is a sign of the times, and a sense of urgency, that the biggest travel retailer in the market, Lotte Duty Free has pounced on the change. CEO Kim Dong-ha, in post since November 2024 and recently-elected president of the influential Korea Duty Free Association, said that his company “will begin welcoming Chinese group tourists in earnest” from the 29th. Lotte moves fast on visa changes The first beneficiaries are cruise travelers on the Dream Cruise Line from Tianjin, China. Approximately 1,700 passengers, among the 2,000 who are onboard the ship, will take advantage of the visa-free policy (which has already come into effect due to a time difference of 13 hours between New York and Seoul). Those travelers will visit Lotte Duty Free’s main downtown store in the tourist hub of Myeongdong in Seoul, Korea’s capital city. The Dream Cruise Line is scheduled to dock at Incheon Port, close to where the country’s main airport is also located. As well as Myeongdong, the cruise tourists will visit…
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