SEOUL, KOREA - The flow of Chinese tourists visiting Seoul is moving to Gangnam from downtown locations such as Myeong-dong. During the Chinese Labor Day holiday, many stores in Gangnam reported higher sales performances than those in downtown.

 

For example, the Gangnam location of Hyundai Department Store said its weekly sales revenue between April 26 and May 1 from China UnionPay credit cards has increased 217 percent from the same period last year. In contrast, the Sogong-dong location (downtown) of Lotte Department Store saw its revenue from China UnionPay rise 128 percent from the same week in 2012. The corresponding figure for the store in 2012 was 260 percent.

 

The factors behind the shifting fortune between Seoul's downtown and Gangnam have to do with the fact that most high-income Chinese tourists in their 30s and 40s now prefer visiting department stores in Gangnam. Those tourists making a visit to Gangnam also tend to spend more. For instance, the average transaction amount at Gangnam Hyundai Department Store by China UnionPay card users was 880,000 won, more than twice that for Sogong-dong Lotte Department Store (310,000 won).

 

The Korea Tourism Organization estimated that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Korea was about 100,000, up 52 percent from last year's Labor Day holiday, thanks to the launch of low-cost airlines such as Jeju Air and the expansion of cruise lines between China and Korea.