Paradise Segasammy Co Ltd, the operator of the Paradise City casino resort in the South Korean city of Incheon, expects the second phase of the scheme to attract 4.8 million visitors to the development within a year, Yonhap reported.
The South Korean news agency added that the firm’s sales target for the new facilities next year is KRW500 billion (about US$445 million).
The first phase of Paradise City (pictured), comprising the casino, a hotel and a convention centre, opened in April last year.
In its first year the casino-resort attracted 1.2 million visitors.
No South Koreans are admitted to the casino.
The second phase, which opens this week, comprises a second hotel, a spa, a club and a shopping arcade.
The South Korean news agency quoted Paradise Segasammy chief executive Park Pyung-yong as saying: “We will emphasise the entertainment aspect through our second-phase opening, becoming a key tourism landmark of South Korea.”
The comments were made in a press conference at the resort on Thursday.
Yonhap reported Paradise Segasammy was making efforts to attract visitors from countries other than China, in view of signs that fewer Chinese than before are visiting South Korea.
Government data quoted by Yonhap indicate that the number of visitors to foreigners-only casinos in South Korea fell for the third year in a row last year because of a Sino-Korean political dispute. The 16 casinos reserved exclusively for foreigners, attracted 2.22 million visitors last year, 6.2 percent fewer than the year before.
The number of Chinese tourists visiting South Korea rose to 410,337 in July, 45.9 percent more than a year earlier. But the amount of growth was due to the low base figure last year, and the total in July this year was well below the tally of 917,519 in July 2016.
Yonhap quoted Paradise Co Ltd executive Park Jong-hoon as saying: “We don’t think the number of Chinese visitors will increase quickly in the near future. Yet we expect the upcoming opening will vitalise our marketing and attract more VIPs.”
South Korean resort operator Paradise Co and Japanese maker of slot machines Sega Sammy Holdings Inc started the KRW1.5 trillion casino resort project in 2011 and formed their Paradise Segasammy joint venture the following year.
