Decrease in tourist visits in Korean casinos

Despite the opening of new gambling facilities in South Korea, targeting foreigners, their turnover decreased by 5.37% in 2017 and amounted to less than 1.21 trillion won ($ 1.09 billion).

According to the National Commission for the Control of Gambling, the number of visitors decreased. So, 16 casinos for foreigners in 2017 were visited by 2.22 million people, which is 6.22% less than in 2016.

The decrease in casino revenues for foreigners has followed an ambiguous trend. In 2016, the turnover from them amounted to 1.28 trillion won, showing an increase of 2.6% compared to 2015. Today (as for July of 2018), compared to the numbers of 2015, the total decrease is 9.7%.

Last year, the casino for local residents, which belongs to Kangwon Land Inc, contributed to the total turnover from gambling at a rate of 7.01%. At the same time, the annual turnover of Kangwon Land casino fell by 6.43% to 1.52 trillion won. The number of casino visitors decreased by 1.7% - up to 3.12 million people visits per year.

Nevertheless, this year the casino sector of South Korea showed signs of improvement. Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the Korean Tourism Organization, reported that in May, casino sales amounted to about 40.59 billion won, up 16.7% from the same period in 2017. The organization operates three casinos for foreigners under the Seven Luck brand: two of them are in Seoul and one in the southern city of Busan.

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