Paradise Group Chairman Chun Phil-lip has claimed his company’s US$1.1 billion Paradise City resort won’t suffer from a travel ban imposed by China due to the property’s VIP focus.
Korea’s first integrated resort held its official opening on Thursday, unveiling a 711 room hotel, convention center and casino as part of its first phase. The opening has been clouded by the ongoing spat between South Korea and China over the former’s intention to install a THAAD anti-ballistic missile system with China subsequently ordering its travel agencies to halt Korean operations. Chinese tourist numbers to Korea fell by 39.4% in March.
But Chun said such concerns were unfounded.
“The target VIP visitors from China are not affected by the Chinese travel ban because they do not travel with big tourist groups, meaning that we will be less affected by the conflict compared to other industries such as the duty-free industry,” he said at a press conference at the Paradise City launch.
“Most of our customers individually visit Korea, so they are actually not influenced by the travel ban of the Chinese government.
“But we will deal with the issue in a conservative way, and we hope more Chinese customers return to Korea during next year’s PyeongChang Winter Olympics.”
“We are considering cooperating with the Korean Olympic Committee to accommodate VIPs who visit Korea during the Winter Games. We want to show the Korean wave to foreigners and let them know Korea also has an integrated resort.”
Chun also confirmed that the Paradise City project – a joint venture between Paradise Co and Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings – was pushing ahead with Phase 2 which will include retail outlets, a spa, nightclub and family attractions.
“Paradise City was a challenge best suited for Paradise Group, a first mover in the tourism industry,” he said. “We will raise the stature of Korea through Paradise City, East Asia‘s first integrated resort, and create a K-style destination for visitors from all over the world.”
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