Jeju island seeks to diversify tourism source markets

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

12/02/22

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.”

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Jeju Island land-based casinos