"Yukeo Effect Finally?"... Distribution Industry 'Anticipation' as Jeju-China Routes Resume

Resumption of Jeju-Jeongju Route on the 3rd Next Month
Hebei, Fuzhou, Chongqing, and Others to Open One After Another
Distribution Companies Including Jeju Dream Tower Expected to Benefit

Starting next month, charter flights carrying Chinese group tourists (Yukers) traveling to Jeju will resume operations, raising expectations among the distribution industry, including hotels, duty-free shops, and marts in the Jeju area. Although Chinese tourism to Korea was permitted last August, many in the industry have evaluated that the effect was not as significant as expected, drawing attention to whether substantial performance benefits will begin in earnest.

On August 31st, Chinese tourists who arrived in Jeju aboard the cruise ship Shanghai Blue Dream Star (24,782 tons) were moving toward the terminal.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to the travel industry on the 29th, China Western Airlines will operate flights between Jeju and Zhengzhou, China, twice a week starting December 3. The resumption of Chinese group tourist charter flights comes 6 years and 10 months after the Chinese government imposed retaliatory measures against the deployment of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) in March 2017. Subsequently, Hebei and Fuzhou will also operate charter flight routes twice a week starting next month. In December, group tourist charter flights will resume from Chongqing, which has the largest population in China, as well as Chengdu, Qingdao, Changsha, and Wuhan. Officials expect that including the currently planned direct routes and group tourist charter flights, international flights from 22 Chinese cities will visit Jeju 158 times per week (round-trip basis) by the end of the year.

With the resumption of air routes connecting Jeju and China, the distribution industry widely believes that the 'Yuker effect' will become full-fledged. Last August, the ban on Chinese group tourists visiting Korea was lifted for the first time in six years, bringing vitality to the distribution industry. However, voices were strong that the influx of people was not as large as expected, making it insufficient to offset the direct impact of COVID-19. Factors such as the economic situation in China and changes in consumption trends also had an impact, but the limited operation of charter flights connecting Korea and China remained a physical obstacle. According to the Jeju Tourism Association, 56,117 Chinese tourists visited Jeju in August when Yukers began returning, but considering that 120,000 visited in August 2019 before COVID-19, the recovery is still not at a sufficient level.

Experts predict that downtown Jeju integrated resorts operating casinos and large marts will be the biggest beneficiaries of the resumption of flights. The casino inside Jeju Dream Tower has shown signs of performance improvement since July in casino drop amounts (money exchanged for casino chips), but internal analysis indicates this was due to an increase in tourists from other countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore, rather than the return of Yukers. The casino drop amount at Jeju Dream Tower slightly increased from 158.5 billion KRW in July to 160.9 billion KRW in August due to the Chinese National Day holiday but decreased again to 121.8 billion KRW in September. The number of visitors also slightly increased from July to August but declined again in September. According to officials, Jeju Shinhwa World, an integrated resort in Seogwipo City, Jeju, has not seen significant changes in sales as the air route connecting Jeju and China has not fully reopened yet.

An industry insider said, "It is true that the performance of hotels and casinos in Jeju has been improving since August, but this is largely attributed to tourists from Japan, Taiwan, and other countries rather than the return of Yukers," adding, "Especially since Jeju is a popular travel destination where Chinese tourists can travel visa-free, it is expected that the Yuker effect will become more pronounced once charter flights begin operating."

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