Group Tours to China Resume... Lotte Duty Free Bustling with Over 400 Chinese Tourists in Two Days

As the Chinese government has decided to allow group tours of its citizens to South Korea, group tourists are gradually appearing at duty-free shops.

According to Lotte Duty Free on the 24th, about 150 Chinese group tourists (Youke) from a passenger ship visited the Myeongdong main store the previous day. It is the first time in 6 years and 5 months that more than 100 Chinese group tourists have visited the Myeongdong main store. This visit was made via sea route after the Chinese government allowed group tourist visas to South Korea on the 11th.

They entered the country on the 22nd via the New Grand Peace passenger ferry, which operates between Weihai Port in Shandong Province, China, and Pyeongtaek Port in Gyeonggi Province. During their 2 nights and 3 days trip, they toured major northern Seoul attractions including Gyeongbokgung Palace, the Blue House, Namsangol Hanok Village, and High Ground, as well as shopping at Lotte Duty Free. They are scheduled to depart on the evening of the 24th.

The tourists visited the Lotte Duty Free Myeongdong main store at 1 p.m. the previous day and enjoyed about an hour of duty-free shopping. They mainly purchased K-beauty products such as Laneige and Mediheal, as well as global cosmetic brands like Chanel and Lanc?me. Food categories such as tangerine chocolate and seasoned seaweed were also preferred. Later that afternoon, about 270 group tourists arriving via the Qingdao-Incheon ferry are expected to visit the Myeongdong main store.

Lotte Duty Free plans to actively attract customers by utilizing the shopping infrastructure of the Myeongdong main store, located in the heart of Myeongdong, the number one foreign tourist destination, and the Jamsil World Tower store. Furthermore, as cruise ships carrying large groups of Chinese and Japanese tourists are scheduled to call at Busan and Jeju Island one after another, Lotte Duty Free’s Busan and Jeju stores are also busy preparing marketing promotions and brand revamps.

A Lotte Duty Free official stated, “Since the allowance of group visas, Chinese passenger ships have been visiting South Korea one after another, and we expect the domestic duty-free industry to regain vitality as early as the fourth quarter. Lotte Duty Free plans to actively collaborate with local agents from the planning stage of travel products and strengthen customer benefits and product composition to welcome Youke.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.