Published on : Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Each year, Japan observes a cluster of four national holidays, dubbed Golden Week, from April 29 to May 5. In 2019, the holiday was extended to a record of 10 days because of Crown Prince Naruhito’s enthronement.
Lotte Duty Free in Sogong-dong, Seoul explained that sales from Japanese tourists went up by 45 percent between April 27th and May 4th from a year earlier. This was an enormous jump from the 10 percent increase from January to April.
During the same period, sales from Chinese visitors increased 25 percent, falling short of the 30 percent rise within the initial four months of the year.
Also, Shinsegae Duty Free in Myeongdong witnessed year-over-year sales from Japanese tourists surge 80 percent between April 27th and May 4th. Shinsegae Department Store stated that foreigners contributed to a 4.8 percent growth in sales during the Golden Week holiday, with sales of female apparel up 23 percent and luxury items 17.5 percent.
Olive Young, a health and beauty drugstore quite famous among Japanese tourists, also explained that Japanese-led sales almost doubled at its Myeongdong branch during the Golden Week holiday from the previous seven days.
Majority of Japanese visitors to Korea generally come in small groups of two to four people. They like hotels located in the main commercial districts of Seoul, including Myeongdong, Gwanghwamun, Euljiro, Hongdae and Sangsu-dong.