Recently, Lotte Duty Free is ramping up its efforts to attract Chinese group tourists by strengthening partnerships with leading travel companies in China. The retailer announced that its marketing head, Namgung Pyo, and senior executives visited Guangzhou and Qingdao from Sept. 10–12, where they met with over 30 major travel agencies and partners. During the visit, the company signed memorandums of understanding with Guangzhou CITS Travel Agency and Qingdao Tourism Group, underscoring its commitment to closer collaboration ahead of China’s new visa-free entry policy and the upcoming National Day holiday.
The company noted that in the first half of the year, customers from tier-2 and tier-3 cities such as Qingdao, Hangzhou, and Chengdu made up a growing share of group tourist sales. Demand has expanded beyond cosmetics and fashion to categories like souvenirs and food. To capture this momentum, Lotte Duty Free is recruiting new local agents, developing tailored products, and implementing city-specific marketing strategies. It also plans to extend its partner network into China’s central and western regions.
In addition to strengthening its China strategy, Lotte Duty Free will increase its international outreach. On Sept. 18, the company will host around 200 multilingual tour interpreters to showcase its stores, brands, and customer benefits.
“Allowing visa-free entry for Chinese group tourists will be a positive turning point for the domestic tourism industry and the duty-free sector,” said Nam. “We will offer a differentiated shopping experience to tourists visiting Korea during the National Day holiday.”
