It is expected that 190,000 Chinese tourists will visit Korea for the Lunar New Year, China’s largest holiday, which runs from the 15th to the 23rd of this month.
Analysts say that the number of Chinese people visiting South Korea instead of Japan will increase significantly as the conflict between China and Japan continues after Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s remarks in November last year about the possibility of military intervention in case of an emergency in Taiwan.
As the number of Chinese tourists was expected to surge during the Spring Festival, the distribution and fashion industries went into all-out war. In particular, the average expenditure of Chinese tourists, called the ‘big-handed’ consumer group, exceeds the average of all foreigners.
According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization on the 11th, it is estimated that 190,000 Chinese people will visit Korea during the Spring Festival. The number of Chinese visiting Korea during the Lunar New Year holiday is the largest ever, and it is up more than 44% compared to last year’s Lunar New Year holiday.
If you add “early tourists” who visit Korea two weeks before the holiday to avoid congestion during the Lunar New Year holiday and reduce the burden of travel expenses, it is expected to easily exceed 200,000 people.
As of 2024, the average expenditure per Chinese tourist is 1,622 dollars (about 2.38 million won), exceeding the average of all foreigners ($1,372).
Faced with slowing sales due to weak domestic demand and weak consumer sentiment, the retail industry sees foreign demand as a breakthrough in a rebound. The strategy is to strengthen discount and refund promotions linked to simple payments familiar to Chinese people, and to increase customer unit prices by putting preferred contents such as K-beauty, fashion, and food at the forefront.
Lotte Department Store offers up to 15% discount if you pay with Alipay and offers K-beauty vouchers to customers who follow Xiao Hongsu’s official account, China’s leading social network service (SNS).
Shinsegae Department Store provided Shinsegae gift certificate refunds to customers who purchased more than a certain amount, and prepared gift certificate discounts and mask packs for customers using Union Pay and WeChat Pay. Hyundai Department Store also offers up to 12% freebies for each purchase amount, and introduces discounts on K-fashion brands and experience events to try on hanbok to attract Chinese tourists.
As of last year, the proportion of foreign sales at major department store stores was 25% at Lotte headquarters, 20% at The Hyundai Seoul, and 18.5% at Shinsegae headquarters. Foreigners are also emerging as one of the pillars of consumption in the retail industry, with foreign payments soaring by double digits year-on-year at convenience stores.
As foreign purchasing patterns are diversified from high-priced luxury goods to daily consumption centered on road shops such as food and beauty, large supermarkets and convenience stores will also strengthen their strategies for foreigners.
Lotte Mart will strengthen the composition of traditional Korean concept products, focusing on Zeta Flex Seoul Station, which is frequently visited by foreigners.
The convenience store industry enhances the convenience of foreigners’ shopping by providing discounts on simple payments in China, immediate refunds of VAT, and introducing kiosks for unmanned currency exchange. CU operates artificial intelligence (AI) interpretation services at more than 70 stores, and E-Mart 24 also operates digital ATMs that can display customized products for foreigners, exchange, and issue and recharge prepaid cards.
The K-beauty platform has also started to catch demand for the Spring Festival. CJ Olive Young has strengthened foreign language guidance and expanded the volume of popular skin care products, focusing on stores visited by many foreigners.
The government’s strategy is to increase demand for revisiting through promotions to visit Korea in collaboration with Chinese online platforms and welcome events in Korea. In Korea, it encourages revisiting through the “Welcome Event Zone” in Myeong-dong, Seoul, and the hospitality booth at Jeju Airport. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, “The proportion of group tourists (youkers) is decreasing and the number of individual tourists (sankers) is increasing rapidly,” adding, “We are focusing on tourism strategies to experience daily life in Korea with K beauty, gourmet food, and content.”
[Reporter Park Yoon Kyun / Reporter Shin Ik Soo / Reporter Jung Seulgi]
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