Lotte Duty Free holds roadshows in Japan to attract visitors

Lotte Duty Free held roadshows in Tokyo, Tuesday, and in Osaka, Wednesday, along with other hospitality-related group units, asking travel agencies there to promote Korea as an attractive tourist destination, Korea’s largest duty free store operator said Thursday.

The companies organized the event from 2012 to 2017 to attract more visitors from countries including China, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand. It was the first time since 2017 that Lotte Duty Free jointly hosted the event in Japan with four other Lotte Group affiliates, including Lotte Hotel, Lotte Property & Development and Lotte World.

Major executives and employees of Lotte Duty Free and Lotte Hotel, including Lotte Duty Free CEO Kim Ju-nam and Lotte Hotel CEO Lee Wan-shin, joined the roadshow to promote Korea’s tourism attractions.

“We are seeking various ways to restore the competitiveness of the domestic tourism industry. In addition to our global roadshow, Lotte Duty Free plans to showcase other tourism contents such as producing travel package items and holding VIP invitation events in the near future,” Kim said.

During the roadshows in Tokyo and Osaka, the company invited 100 Japanese tourism industry workers to each event and introduced Lotte’s duty free stores in major tourist cities such as Seoul, Busan and Jeju Island.

Lotte Duty Free also promoted package products that link Lotte Group’s hotels and other businesses with popular tourism attractions in Korea. Meanwhile, according to the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of Japanese tourists visiting Korea in the first quarter of this year increased more than 60 times yearon-year. Sales generated by Japanese visitors also soared by more than 240 percent in the same period.