South Korea to allow visa-free entry from Japan, Taiwan and Macau
Authorities have announced the country will allow visa-free entry to holders of Japan, Taiwan, or Macau travel documents.
South Korea.- Authorities have announced that visitors with travel documents issued by Japan, Taiwan or Macau will be granted visa-free entry to the country. According to Yonhap News Agency, travellers must apply online for permission to enter through the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization website at least 72 hours before their return flight.
Authorities in the capital think the measure will help attract tourists to the 2022 Seoul Festival that will be held between August 10 to 14. The measure could also benefit the country’s casinos as most only accept foreign players.
In 2021, South Korean casino revenue was KRW1.18tn (US$975.39m), compared to KRW1.04tn in 2020. However, the growth was mainly attributed to Kangwon Land, the only casino in South Korea open to locals. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of arrivals in South Korea was 212,767 in 2020 and 48,278 in 2021.
In June, the country resumed issuing short-term tourist visas for individual tourists and tour groups after inbound tourism was halted at the height of the Covid-19 epidemic.
As previously reported by Focus Gaming News, Paradise Co revenue reached KRW27.36bn (US$20.9m) in July, up 296.5 per cent year-on-year and 110 per cent month-on-month. In the first seven months of 2022, the group’s casino revenue rose 7.4 per cent year-on-year to KRW128.35bn.
Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) reported that casino sales increased 17 per cent month-on-month in July to KRW28.61bn (US$21.8m). Casino sales for the first seven months of 2022 combined stand at KRW123.35bn, up 157.7 per cent when compared to last year.
