Chinese tourist inflows lift South Korea’s foreigner-only casinos ahead of Lunar New Year

Diplomatic tensions between China and Japan have redirected a share of outbound Chinese tourism toward Korea.

South Korea.- Foreigner-only casino operators in south Korea are seeing strong momentum ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays, supported by a sharp increase in Chinese visitors. Analysts say diplomatic tensions between China and Japan, including flight cancellations and official travel advisories, have redirected a share of outbound Chinese tourism toward Korea.

Paradise, Lotte Tour Development and Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) saw solid January results. Paradise reported net casino sales of KRW94.3bn (US$64.4m), up 31.4 per cent year-on-year and its highest monthly figure on record. Lotte Tour Development posted net casino sales of KRW45.6bn (US$31.1m), up 55.0 per cent, while GKL recorded KRW36.6bn (US$25.3m), a 6.6 per cent increase.

Lotte Tour Development’s January drop reached KRW261.6bn (US$178.8m), Paradise recorded KRW632bn (US$433.5m), and GKL posted KRW273.7bn (US$187.9m). At GKL’s Gangnam casino, the mass-market drop exceeded KRW9bn (US$6.1m), the highest level in two years.

According to IBK Securities, the combined January drop of the three operators totalled KRW1.17tn (US$800m), up 21.9 per cent year-on-year, while combined net casino sales rose 30.2 per cent to KRW176.5bn (US$120.8m). Total visitor numbers increased 29.7 per cent to around 243,000.

Analysts expect further upside during the Lunar New Year period from February 15 to 23. Hanwha Investment & Securities estimates that more than 200,000 Chinese tourists could visit South Korea during the holiday, supported by the country’s temporary visa-free entry programme for Chinese group travellers, which remains in place through June.

Analysts note that with Chinese arrivals to Korea now surpassing those to Japan for the first time since 2017, Korea’s foreigner-only casino sector is well positioned to capture continued spillover demand.

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See also: Grand Korea Leisure casino sales up 6.6% in January

Diplomatic tensions between China and Japan have redirected a share of outbound Chinese tourism toward Korea. South Korea.- Foreigner-only casino operators in south Korea are seeing strong momentum ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays, supported by a sharp increase in Chinese visitors. Analysts say diplomatic tensions between China and Japan, including flight cancellations and…