Jeju Island Contributes to Tourism Through Foreigners-Only Casino Fund Payments

Published 03 May.2023 09:19(KST)

Jeju Island Completes 2023 Sales Survey for Jeju Tourism Promotion Fund Imposition

Casino Sales Up 65.5%... Tourism Promotion Fund Levy Increases 86% to 6.7 Billion KRW

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province has finalized the 2022 sales figures, which serve as the basis for imposing the Jeju Tourism Promotion Fund this year, through a sales investigation of eight foreigner-only casinos in the province.

Casino Facilities in Jeju Island

According to Jeju Province on the 3rd, the confirmed 2022 sales of casinos in the province increased by 65.5% from 48.8 billion KRW last year to approximately 80.7 billion KRW, and this year’s fund levy amount rose by 86% from 3.6 billion KRW last year to about 6.7 billion KRW.

The Jeju Tourism Promotion Fund is used for subsidies such as improving the tourism guidance system, tourism promotion, and providing tourism information services, as well as for loan support for the construction and renovation of tourism facilities and the operation of tourism businesses.

The Tourism Promotion Fund is a valuable resource for promoting various projects for the development of Jeju’s tourism industry, including special loan support to reduce the financial burden on small tourism businesses facing crises due to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn.

The sources of the Jeju Tourism Promotion Fund include departure fees (10,000 KRW per person), bonded sales area license fees, and payments from foreigner-only casinos in the province.

The tourism promotion fund imposed on casino operators in the province is charged at 1 to 10% of the previous year’s sales and is paid in four installments from June to December.

In particular, Jeju casinos have paid 47.1 billion KRW to the Jeju Tourism Promotion Fund in 2019, just before the COVID-19 outbreak, and have contributed a total of 192.5 billion KRW from 2007 to this year, accounting for the largest share of the fund.

Byeon Deok-seung, Director of the Tourism Exchange Bureau of Jeju Province, said, “Foreigner-only casinos bear 60 to 70% of the Jeju Tourism Promotion Fund resources and contribute significantly to the local economy by employing about 1,700 young people in the province. We will continue to make efforts so that the casino industry can develop in harmony with the residents.”