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| Chinese characters are written on a window of an optician's store in the shopping district of Myeong-dong, Seoul, Wednesday. In two months, group tourists are expected to return to Korea to underpin sales of many Korean duty free shops, leisure industries and cosmetic firms. / Yonhap |
By Park Jae-hyuk
A salesclerk was shouting in Chinese to attract shoppers to her Nature Republic store in Myeong-dong shopping district, Seoul, last Wednesday.
It was a day after the announcement of an agreement to normalize ties between Korea and China following a year-long dispute over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here.
Although tourists speaking Chinese have yet to be noticeable, it was easy to find ads written in Chinese characters at most stores in the market.
Since the Chinese government practically prohibited the country's tour agencies from offering group tours to Korea in March, most store clerks in Myeong-dong have spoken Japanese to fill the vacancy left by Chinese shoppers with tourists from Japan.
The number of Japanese tourists and their purchasing power, however, were not enough to fill the gap.
Thus, the easing of Sino-Korean tensions is invigorating those who have missed their most lucrative customers.
"Most of those who seemingly speak Chinese are actually tourists from Taiwan and Hong Kong," said an information clerk who was helping foreign tourists near Myeong-dong Theater. "However, Chinese tourists are expected to come back to Korea soon, following the normalization of diplomatic ties between the two countries."
Chinese tour agencies and air carriers have already begun preparing for the resumption of group tours to Korea, even before the announcement of the agreement.
Ctrip is considering offering group tours to Korea, according to Lotte Hotel, which has discussed a partnership with China's largest online travel agency.
Chinese low-cost carriers, including Spring Airlines and Juneyao Air, are set to resume offering flights to Korea.
The Chinese authorities' recent approval of the construction of Lotte's commercial complex in Chengdu is regarded as another positive sign.
Lotte Group said the Chinese authorities issued the construction permit on Oct. 30.
The 1 trillion won ($896 million) project had been suspended over the past 10 months, since Lotte provided its golf resort for the THAAD site.
The retail giant is expecting its other businesses in China will get back on track as soon as possible.
Amid the positive atmosphere, Korean conglomerates have begun carrying out marketing campaigns to attract Chinese tourists, during the upcoming China's Singles' Day on Nov. 11, the Chinese version of Black Friday.
Shilla Duty Free has recruited Chinese internet celebrities, known as "Wang Hong" in Chinese, to hold promotional events for Chinese tourists via social media.
Shinsegae Duty Free joined hands with Alipay, a third-party mobile and online payment platform based in China, so Chinese tourists can make payments easily.
"In order for our promotional events for China's Singles' Day to serve as a momentum for attracting Chinese tourists to Korea, we will offer various benefits for their travel and shopping," a Shinsegae Duty Free official said.
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| President Moon Jae-in, front row center, promotes the PyeongChang Winter Olympics at the stadium in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on Oct. 31. The improved Sino-Korean relations are expected to bring many Chinese tourists to the winter sporting event next February. / Yonhap |
The government is also going all-out to attract Chinese tourists.
It will allow an extension on the $15 per person visa fee waiver for Chinese group tourists by the end of next year. The exemption was initially planned to end at the end of this year.
If Chinese tourists come to Korea on government-designated cruise ships next year, they can disembark here without visa.
Also, the government will issue multiple entry visas to Chinese, who have previously visited OECD countries, including Korea. Multiple entry visa holders are allowed to enter Korea as many times as they want within the given period.
"President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping's summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting will come up with specific measures for the resumption of Chinese people's trip to Korea," Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Do Jong-whan told reporters last Friday. "Although it will take at least two months to attract Chinese tourists to Korea, we will try to shorten the period."
The government said it will also promote Korea in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
This would be also a good piece of news for organizers of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Two months are enough to prepare for massive arrivals of Chinese tourists during the Games, which will take place next February.
