Jeju island seeks to diversify tourism source markets

The casino industry has been heavily affected by the lack of tourists.
The casino industry has been heavily affected by the lack of tourists.

The island wants to depend less on Chinese tourists and focus more on Japan, Taiwan and the South Asian market.

South Korea.- Ko Byoung Hun, assistant director of the Casino Policy Division for Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, has told GGRAsia that authorities aim to diversify the island’s sources. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, China was the main source marker. Ko says the focus is now on Japan, Taiwan and the South Asian market .

Ko said the island was using marketing and junket promotion aimed at these markets in the short term. He said: “We are especially paying attention to Japan’s rich baby boomers”. He suggested the island could no expect as many tourists from China as pre-pandemic due to the government’s pressure on gambling.

There are eight foreigner-only casinos on Jeju, some of which are still closed for a variety of reasons. In September, the local government had asked all casinos to reopen by autumn unless they could justify a decision not to.

On a bill that could allow proxy betting via live-casino floors in South Korea, Ko said: “As we have been recognising anti-casino sentiment during the bill’s discussion, we are just watching the situation currently.”

See also: Jeju Dream Tower gross gaming revenue down 17.6% in Q3

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Jeju Island land-based casino