Seoul Incheon Airport: The Battle Ground for Casino Brand Advertising

Seoul Incheon Airport, the gateway to South Korea for many international travelers, is currently a battleground for casino-related brand marketing campaigns. Paradise Casino and 7 Luck have booked prime advertising space in the airport's T1 and T2 arrival areas.

In addition, Inspire Casino, the first American-style casino in Korea, which opened in February and is located in Yeongjongdo, Incheon, boasts a huge area of 24,000㎡, equipped with 150 tables and 374 slot machines.

This intense promotional push comes in light of recent statistics showing a significant rebound in inbound tourists, especially from China and Japan, which reached 74% and 78% of their 2019 levels, respectively, by February this year. Chinese inbound tourists reached 620,000, while Japanese tourists reached 330,000. The recovery trend is further evidenced by the number of visits to VIP rooms in foreigner-only casinos, which have risen to more than 80% of their pre-pandemic levels.

The resurgence in inbound tourism, attributed to the holiday effects of Japan's Golden Week and China's Labor Day, suggests a sustained improvement in the performance of foreigner-only casinos in Korea.