South Korean casino operator Lotte Tour Development Co. Ltd. is moving to attract high rollers who are getting the cold shoulder in Macau and want to try a new destination.
According to GGRAsia, Lotte Tour Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Teo says the company has facilitated visits from 1,000 overseas VIPs to visit the casino at its Jeju Dream Tower this month. Most are from Singapore, though there may be a contingent of Malaysian visitors too, a company representative told the news outlet.
Lotte Tour said it was working with nine junket agents to bring players to the resort, located on the holiday island of Jeju.
Teo acknowledged that “Southeast Asian junkets are competitively heading for South Korea recently” as junkets have come under criticism in Macau and Australia. He said gaming in Jeju was helped by a visa-free entry program for certain travelers that began June 1, and the resumption of restored international travel on June 2.
In May, Lotte Tour hired 20 salespeople to work overseas markets, including a former senior executive from the Star Sydney. It plans to employ 30 more sales executives when international air services to Jeju were fully restored, an announcement said.
Jeju Dream Tower’s casino recorded gross gaming revenue (GGR) of about KRW15.3 billion (US$11.7 million) for the second quarter, with KRW7.0 billion in June alone, a monthly record since it opened in June 2021. The Jeju Tourism Organization said 5,622 foreign visitors stopped in Jeju in June, followed by 6,294 in July and 2,650 from August 1 to 10.
