Retail in Asia

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Growth in Chinese arrivals to South Korea slows in April

Old fortress gate with light trails at downtown

Chinese visitor numbers to South Korea in April rose +6.3% year-on-year to 682,318, a slowing of growth after a strong first quarter, according to Korea Tourism Organization.

Chinese visitors are critical to South Korea’s travel retail sector (the world’s largest), representing 46.4% of total arrivals in April.

For the first four months of 2016 Chinese arrivals rose by +13.8% over a strong 2015 base to 2,352,378.

Japanese arrivals rose by an encouraging +13.5% in April to 175,283, representing 11.9% of all visitors.

The first four months of 2016 have seen a +3.9% rise in Japanese visitor numbers to 680,988,  a 13.5% share.