SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free has partnered with South Korean casino operators that cater only to tourists as it seeks to diversify its customer base.
Lotte Duty Free President Jang Seon-wook announced the promotional alliance today. Under the agreement, Paradise Casino and Seven Luck Casino will offer their VIP foreigner-only customer base Lotte Duty Free discount cards and invitations.
The travel retailer will expand its marketing activities to the casinos, including visibility at Paradise Casino’s VIP lounge and promotional items and discounts to Seven Luck Casino members.
Duty free shopping is the number one activity among tourists visiting South Korea. Lotte Duty Free hopes this marketing drive will increase its attractiveness following a turbulent 2017.
Chinese tourists are historically the biggest spenders in South Korean duty free stores. Despite the beginnings of a recovery, the fall in their numbers last year due to the THAAD anti-missile system dispute between the two countries has highlighted the importance of diversifying its customer base, said Lotte Duty Free.
“We plan to launch a variety of high-quality promotions for foreign buyers with high purchasing power, such as Japanese and Southeast Asian tourists, through partnership with foreign-only casinos,” said Lotte Duty Free Marketing Director Kim Won-sik.
Casino VIP customers tend to have higher purchasing power than general tourists, according to Lotte. Around 13.7% of tourist arrivals to South Korea in 2016 were reported to have used foreign-only casinos.
