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| Seen above is an exterior view of Korea's first integrated resort Paradise City in Incheon. / Courtesy of Paradise Group |
Foreigners-only casino to diversify market amid THAAD row
By Park Jae-hyuk
INCHEON ─ Paradise City, the first integrated resort in Northeast Asia, has opened at Yeongjong Island near Incheon International Airport's International Business Center, Thursday.
Amid the decreased influx of Chinese tourists in the wake of economic retaliation against Korea's decision to install an anti-missile battery here, Paradise Group Chairman Chun Phil-lip said he seeks to diversify the market by attracting tourists from Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
"Most of our customers individually visit Korea, so they are actually not influenced by the travel ban of the Chinese government," he said at a press conference. "But we will deal with the issue in a conservative way, and we hope more Chinese customers return to Korea during next year's PyeongChang Winter Olympics."
Amid the Sino-Korean conflict on the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) battery here, Beijing banned group tours of its people to Korea. But individual tourists continue to visit Korea.
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| Paradise Group Chairman Chun Phil-lip speaks during a press conference at Paradise City in Incheon, Thursday. / Courtesy of Paradise Group |
In November 2014, Paradise Sega Sammy launched the grand project aiming to make an integrated resort which is as attractive as those in Las Vegas, Singapore and Macau. The entity is a joint venture of Korean casino operator Paradise Group and Japanese entertainment company Sega Sammy Holdings.
An integrated resort is a tourist facility which usually has hotels, shopping, convention and exhibition halls, performance venues, gaming venues, restaurants and theme parks, designed to satisfy both business and leisure tourists.
With 1.3 trillion won ($1.1 billion) investment, the construction of the hotel, casino and convention hall was completed on a 330,000-square-meter property. Visitors will be able to enjoy a shopping plaza, spa and performance hall as well by the first half of next year.
The building with 10 stories aboveground and two underground features a unique Y-shaped design to accommodate 711 rooms. Three 120-meter-long wings, each of which has family amenities, a casino and a convention hall, diverge from the central zone of "wow space."
On the first floor are restaurants including Michelin two-star restaurant Imperial Treasure, a bar, one of Korea's biggest grand ballrooms and the nation's largest foreigners-only casino.
Hotel and resort rooms are located between the fourth and 10th floors, and the third floor will accommodate lounges, pools, a spa, sauna, fitness center, kid zone, bowling alley and Sony Play Station zone.
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| Seen above is the lobby of the foreigners-only casino at Paradise City in Incheon. / Courtesy of Paradise Group |
Paradise City has been named an "art-tainment resort." Based on contemporary Western construction style, the building adopted Eastern features in terms of its patterns, colors and objects.
With 2,700 art pieces including 100 masterpieces of famous artists such as Damien Hirst, Kusama Yayoi, Lee Kang-so and Oh Su-fan, visitors will likely feel that they are in a large museum, it said.
Paradise Group expects to post 880 billion won in sales this year and 1.1 trillion won next year, attracting more than 1.5 million tourists in a year. Over the next 50 years, the group aims to hire 780,000 employees and create 8.2 trillion won in production effects and 3.25 trillion won in added value.
Becoming the top landmark in Korea, Paradise City seeks to revive the nation's tourism industry which has been suffering a long-lasting slump.
"We are considering cooperating with the Korean Olympic Committee to accommodate VIPs who visit Korea during the Winter Games," Chun said. "We want to show the Korean wave to foreigners and let them know Korea also has an integrated resort."
The grand opening ceremony after the press conference was attended by Paradise Group Chairman Chun Phil-lip, Sega Sammy Holdings CEO Satomi Hajime, Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok and Incheon International Airport CEO Chung Il-young.
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