Rising Covid-19 cases halts Jeju travel bubble plans
Plans to attract foreign tourists to Jeju island may be delayed due to an outbreak of Covid-19 cases.
South Korea.- Plans to launch a travel bubble between Jeju island and neighbouring countries may be on hold due to a rise in Covid-19 cases.
After five days of double-digit new cases, the government has increased restrictions and the tourism sector is reporting that people have started to cancel reservations.
It now seems unlikely that international routes will be able to open under the current circumstances.
There are eight foreigner-only casinos located on Jeju island, although only three of them are currently operating, including the recently opened Jeju Dream Tower casino. They have been suffering from a lack of tourists and multiple closures.
In 2020, casinos on Jeju island saw sales decline by 63.6 per cent year-on-year 2020 to KRW69.30bn (US$61.5m). That compares to sales of KRW190.0bn (US$168.7m) in 2019, before the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Only four Jeju casinos out of a total of 16 foreigner-only venues remained operational through most of 2020: Paradise Co’s Paradise Casino Jeju Grand, Landing Casino at Jeju Shinhwa World, Casino Lotte Tour at Lotte Hotel Jeju and Gongzi Jeju.
