Foreigners’ duty-free spending in Korea hits annual high in Sept.

Duty-free sales in Korea hit in September hit this year’s monthly high of 1.77 trillion won ($1.2 billion), up 12.6% from the previous month on the rise of foreign travelers, according to Korea Duty Free Shops Association Tuesday. Spending by foreigners gained 15.5% to 1.65 trillion won, rising for two months from an all-time low of 1 trillion won in July. Foreign customers rose for 7 straight month to 164,700 due to easing in quarantine restrictions and renewed visa-free entry from Japan and Taiwan. Despite rise in purchase cap, spending by Koreans fell 17% on month to 115.5 billion won due to steeper fall in KRW vs USD.

By Pulse