By Park Si-soo

Sales of Korean products at duty free shops increased 40 percent in the first half of the year on the back of soaring inbound tourists.

Chinese travelers were the biggest contributors, spending 1.6 times more on Korean products than in the same period last year, while Japanese visitors’ purchases increased by 55 percent, according to a survey conducted by the country’s three biggest duty free shops, Lotte, Shinsegae and Shilla, Tuesday.

Lotte, the country’s largest duty free shop brand, said sales of domestic products rose 40 percent compared to a year earlier thanks largely to the lavish spending by Chinese and Japanese shoppers. Korean ginseng, chocolate and electric rice cookers flew off the shelves during the period. Sales of imported products rose only 18 percent, it said.

MCM benefitted the most with a 79 percent increase in sales, it said, adding Missha came next with 65 percent, followed by LG Household and Healthcare with 58 percent, and Amore Pacific with 47 percent. Shinsegae and Shilla also revealed similar statistics, showing an improvement of brand recognition of Korean products among foreign travelers.

Lotte said revenue at its Seoul store rose about 33 percent in the first six months of this year from 12 months earlier, while its Jeju store saw sales soar about 100 percent. The firm expects to post over 3 trillion won in revenue this year, up from last year’s 2.7 trillion won.

Shilla said its earnings generated from Chinese and other non-Korean customers rose 75 percent, projecting that its 2012 revenue will exceed 2 trillion won for the first time.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of foreign visitors jumped 23.3 percent to 5.33 million in the first half of this year from the year before when Korea attracted 1.81 million Japanese and 1.19 million Chinese tourists, up 30.2 and 29.9 percent, respectively.