Can China’s National Day Golden Week save Korean tourism?

Korea reported on the 13th that China will usher in the eight-day Golden Week in early October, when a large number of Chinese people will travel overseas. In previous years, at this "critical juncture", the Korean tourism industry would do its best to attract visits from Chinese investors. However, due to the impact of THAAD, the number of Chinese tourists to South Korea has dropped significantly this year. South Korea's tourism industry has been complaining due to heavy losses. Will this Golden Week be a life-saving straw? Korean media interviewed people in the tourism industry and the final answer was: no chance.

Since March this year, Chinese group tourists to South Korea have begun to disappear, and the South Korean tourism industry, which is highly dependent on the Chinese market, has been hit hard. Although China's golden holidays are approaching, the expectation that Chinese tourists' sales during the Golden Week will decrease by more than 30% year-on-year makes the Korean duty-free shop industry still "unable to laugh."

According to reports, South Korea will usher in a 10-day holiday in early October. Although the activities of domestic tourists in South Korea will boost consumption to a certain extent, it is still far from filling the gap of Chinese investors. Not nearly enough. The report also quoted China Daily as saying that the number of Chinese outbound tourists during Golden Week this year is expected to exceed 6 million, but South Korea is no longer the preferred option for Chinese tourists.

The South Korean tourism industry said that it has not received Chinese group tourists for several months, and 90% of the travel agencies that specialize in receiving Chinese tourists are currently closed or closed. The relevant person in charge said, "Currently, inbound travel by Chinese tourists is basically frozen."

The report stated that this is in sharp contrast to last year's grand occasion. According to statistics, during China’s National Day Golden Week in 2016, 250,000 Chinese tourists visited South Korea, an increase of 19% from the previous year. Among them, sales by Chinese tourists at major department stores and duty-free shops in South Korea have increased by 20% to 40%. Among the 250,000 Chinese tourists, nearly half (120,000) visited Lotte Duty Free. This resulted in a 27% increase in sales from Chinese tourists at Lotte Duty Free’s main store from September 29 to October 6 last year compared with the previous year.

However, affected by the THAAD crisis, the number of Chinese tourists visiting South Korea from January to July this year was only 7.76 million, a year-on-year decrease of 20.9%. Among them, the number of Chinese tourists visiting South Korea in July was 281,263, a year-on-year decrease of 69.3%. According to people in the South Korean tourism industry, the "temporary" deployment of THAAD has been completed, and tensions between South Korea and China will further escalate. During the Golden Week early next month, the number of Chinese tourists will also decline. A person in charge said, "We have been hit hard by the sharp drop in Chinese tourists, and now the additional deployment of THAAD has made it even worse." He said, "China's Golden Week was still a peak season for us last year, and this year we really have no expectations. "

On the morning of the 7th, the South Korean and US military transported the remaining four missile launch vehicles of the "THAAD" anti-missile system and related materials into the "THAAD" base in Seongju, South Korea. On the same day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang stated at a regular press conference that China has lodged stern representations with South Korea regarding the "temporary" deployment of THAAD by the United States and South Korea. Geng Shuang said, "I would like to reiterate that China's firm opposition to the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system by the United States in South Korea is clear, consistent and firm." He said that China is willing to once again urge the United States and South Korea to pay attention to the security of China and other regional countries. interests and concerns, immediately stop the relevant deployment process and remove the relevant equipment.