Paradise Co. Ltd., which operates foreigners-only casinos in South Korea, could benefit most from a return of Japanese tourism to that country. As reported by GGRAsia, analyst Ji InHae of brokerage Shinhan Investment Corp. wrote, “We believe Paradise stands to benefit the most among domestic casinos from Japan demand recovery.
“In efforts to secure first-mover advantage ahead of the upturn in demand,” she continued, “Paradise has already dispatched a portion of its marketers to Japan.”
Passenger flights between Japan and South Korea are expected to resume in July. Yearly flights to and from the countries had dropped from around 120,000 in 2019 to fewer than 10,000 in 2021, due to travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, noted the brokerage.
A South Korean delegation sent by new President Yoon Suk-yeol visited Japan in April. On its return, the delegation provided “positive comments on the possible resumption of flights, restoration of the visa waiver and expansion of quarantine exemptions between Korea and Japan,” Ji said.
She added, “Compared with other domestic [South Korean] casinos, Paradise had relied heavily on inbound travel from Japan before the pandemic, with Japanese visitors accounting for roughly 35 percent of total VIP drop and more than 40 percent of total table drop including mass customers in 2019.”
Japanese conglomerate Sega Sammy Holdings is a partner of Paradise Co in the latter’s largest branded property, Paradise City located on Yeongjong Island in Incheon, called “the gateway to Seoul.”
