GKL Bizup, S. Korea push for visa-free for Japanese to Oct. 31
Grand Korea Leisure Inc. (GKL), which operates foreigner-only casinos in South Korea, told GGRAsia on Wednesday that its gaming business was “gradually improving” in August.
The timing coincides with the visa-free entry system for passport holders issued in Japan, Macau, or Taiwan. The system was scheduled to run from Aug. 4-31, but on Wednesday, South Korean authorities said it would be extended until Oct. 31, Yonhap reported.
Citing the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Yonhap reported on Wednesday that the average daily number of tourists from Japan and Taiwan rose about 97% from July from August 21 as a result of the visa waiver program.
A Grand Korea Leisure spokesperson told GGRAsia that the company “did not see a surge in business through the visa-free scheme in August.”
Nevertheless, the general direction of the Korean entry policy is to relax the current rules.
From Saturday (September 3), travellers will no longer need a “negative” COVID-19 test certificate to board incoming flights or ships, the Central Quarantine Agency said on Wednesday.
Visitors must be tested within 24 hours of entering the country, and if they are ‘positive’, they must quarantine for seven days.
In a related development, Grand Korea Leisure confirmed Wednesday that relocation work has begun regarding the new home of one of its two casinos in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
The Seven Luck brand’s current location at the Gangbuk Millennium Seoul Hilton Hotel (file photo) is the relocation of operations to Seoul Dragon City in Yongsan, another part of Seoul. The deal was confirmed in a December filing by the casino company to the Korea Exchange.
Grand Korea Leisure’s Millennium Seoul Hilton’s current lease expires on Dec. 31. The casino company’s new lease on Seoul Dragon City runs from Jan. 1, 2023, to Aug. 15, 2032.
Seoul Dragon City currently operates four hotel brands, Grand Mercure, ibis Styles, Novotel, and Novotel Suites, offering a total of 1,700 rooms.
Grand Korea Leisure, a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, also operates casinos in Gangnam, Seoul, and casinos in Busan, in the south of the country.
Grand Korea Leisure’s casino sales rose 17.0 percent month-on-month to 28.61 billion won ($21.3 million at the current exchange rate) in July, Grand Korea Leisure said in an Aug. 3 filing. The figure was up 278.0 percent year-on-year.
BY: 릴게임사이트