Jun 07, 2022 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  
Even unvaccinated travellers to South Korea will from Wednesday (June 8) be exempted from any quarantine, provided they twice test ‘negative’ for Covid-19 within three days of arrival.
An inbound air traveller – regardless of vaccination status – must also possess a ‘negative’ test result before being permitted to board a flight to South Korea.
Any inbound traveller that does after arrival test ‘positive’ on either of two mandatory Covid-19 tests – one conducted at point of entry, and the second within three days of arrival – will have to undergo a seven-day quarantine.
The news was given on Friday, by the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention – known locally as the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDC) – which comes under the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
All but one of South Korea’s 17 casino venues are open only to foreign players. In 2021, when restrictions on inbound travel by foreigners were tighter, the 13 percent year-on-year growth in casino-sector gaming revenue was driven by Kangwon Land, the only property open to locals.
In other developments, the country’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it would – also with effect from Wednesday – lift a number of Covid-19 countermeasures related to the operation of the country’s main air hub, Incheon International Airport.
Permitted frequency of flights would be doubled, from 20 per hour to 40 per hour. Permitted operating hours will also be returned to a 24-hour basis, rather than the 8pm to 5am curfew in any 24-hour cycle that had existed previously.
The relaxations relating respectively to Incheon airport and to the inbound entry rules for South Korea were due to a “stabilisation” of the outlook regarding use of quarantine, judged on an “internal and external” basis, and because of “global trends of quarantine-exemption to foreign travellers,” said the CDC. As examples, it said the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Germany “have done so”.
Nonetheless the CDC said it would instruct operators of inbound flights to prevent from boarding, anyone that did not have acceptable evidence of a ‘negative’ test result for Covid-19.
South Korea resumed on June 1 issuance of short-term tourism visas for entry to the country’s peninsular territory, either for individual visitors or groups of tourists.
The CDC noted in its Friday announcement, that the country’s immigration policy could be subject to further change, depending on Covid-19 pandemic conditions.
Jun 07, 2023
Jun 05, 2023
Jun 09, 2023
Jun 09, 2023
Jun 09, 2023
None of Macau’s six gaming concessionaires have so far applied for a form of “exemption” from the full 40-percent tax rate on casino gross gaming revenue (GGR), as potentially applicable...Jun 09, 2023
Commercial opportunities for utilisation of...Jun 08, 2023
Gaming content and equipment maker Konami says it is...Jun 07, 2023
Casino gaming content and hardware provider Light &...Jun 06, 2023
Electronic table games (ETGs) supplier Interblock dd is...Jun 05, 2023
Random number generator (RNG) testing tools are among the...Jun 01, 2023
Alfastreet, a manufacturer of electronic gaming machines,...Jun 01, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is tweaking...Jun 01, 2023
The iGaming segment in Asia “has grown rapidly” since...May 31, 2023
Showing slot machine players – via animations on the...May 31, 2023
Macau stocks in likelihood “have been punished too much...May 31, 2023
There are foreign companies still interested in investing...May 31, 2023
Thailand could pass the necessary enabling legislation for...May 30, 2023
China will remain a key market for Asian gaming...May 30, 2023
Alejandro Tengco (pictured in a file photo), chairman and...May 30, 2023
There are “plenty of reasons” for the global gaming...May 30, 2023
Gaming equipment provider International Game Technology Plc...May 30, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023 Special Edition:...May 29, 2023
Austria-based gaming equipment maker and operator Novomatic...May 25, 2023
Sports betting and online casino operating platform...May 24, 2023
The business performance in Asia of gaming content and...May 18, 2023
The organisers of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023...May 17, 2023
Gaming content and equipment supplier Light & Wonder...May 16, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is to...May 09, 2023
Casino slot machine and digital gaming content provider...May 05, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia event in Singapore is the...May 04, 2023
An adviser to a Thailand parliamentary committee mulling...(Click here for more)
”We believe the intrinsic value of IGT’s market-leading businesses and diversified cash flow profile is not currently reflected in our stock price and the timing is right to assess opportunities that may enhance value for IGT’s shareholders”
Marco Sala
Executive chair of casino equipment supplier IGT