SEOUL // In the bustling shopping district of Myeongdong in South Korea's capital, visitors from neighbouring countries have become so common that stores have for many years now displayed signs in Chinese and Japanese.
On a recent autumn afternoon, tourists from China and Japan moved among stores in the popular retail area, which has shops ranging from the high street names such as Zara to pricey designer labels including Louis Vuitton and Chanel, located near stalls selling street food and stuffed toys.
To make the shopping experience even easier for the visitors, virtually every store has staff who are fluent in the Asian languages.
"I'm in Korea for five days for shopping," says Sarah Yi, 32, from Guangdong. The chief financial officer for a company in China was shopping for cosmetics with a store assistant at her side, explaining various products in Cantonese. For her next trip, Ms Yi wants to travel to Paris, while the shopping destination of Dubai is also on her radar.
"The Chinese are rising as the new tourist," says Heung-sik Kim, a deputy director at Seoul's city government. "They're getting richer and spending more money on leisure and travelling. They start travelling to countries that are nearer and then they go further afield. Last year, Japan was the largest market for tourists to Seoul. Now China is expected to be number one this year."
This is all part of a boom in Asian tourism, spearheaded by China and predicted to last for decades.
The number of international tourists from Asia and the Pacific is expected to increase from more than 204 million last year to 541 million by 2030, according to new forecasts by the UN World Tourism Organization.
That means that an additional 17 million tourists on average are expected to travel from the Asia-Pacific region every year over the next two decades. Last year, the number of Chinese hotel guests staying in Abu Dhabi grew by 29 per cent, according to the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, while in Dubai the number of Chinese guests was up 18 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared with last year's first quarter, data from Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing shows.
"Last year, fast growth was recorded in all three markets of domestic, inbound and outbound travels, including 2.1 billion tourist [trips] in the domestic travel market," says Jiang Du, the vice chairman of China's national tourism administration. "There were 57 million outbound tourists, up by 20 per cent."
Mr Kim says Koreans are also spending more than ever before on foreign travel.
"Young people in particular want to experience the world," he says.
The number of South Korean hotel guests in Abu Dhabi more than doubled in the first four months of this year, compared with the same period last year, with increased business between the Emirates and South Korea and the launch of Etihad Airways flights to Seoul in December cited as factors in the surge.
In the first four months of this year, 2,839 South Koreans stayed in Abu Dhabi's hotels and hotel apartments, up 118 per cent on the same period last year, according to the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.
This prompted the authority to design a Korean version of its consumer website and send a delegation to South Korea's main tourism exhibition for the first time in June.
Along with China, India is a huge growth market that is feeding increasing numbers of tourists to the UAE.
"Our outbound has been increasing very fast," says Devesh Chaturvedi, the additional director general of India's ministry of tourism.
rbundhun@thenational.ae
All about the Sevens
Cape Town Sevens on Saturday and Sunday: Pools A – South Africa, Kenya, France, Russia; B – New Zealand, Australia, Spain, United States; C – England, Scotland, Argentina, Uganda; D – Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Wales
HSBC World Sevens Series standing after first leg in Dubai 1 South Africa; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Fiji; 5 Australia; 6 Samoa; 7 Kenya; 8 Scotland; 9 France; 10 Spain; 11 Argentina; 12 Canada; 13 Wales; 14 Uganda; 15 United States; 16 Russia
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
RESULTS
1.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winners: Hyde Park, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
2.15pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Shamikh, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
2.45pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Hurry Up, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.15pm: Shadwell Jebel Ali Mile Group 3 (TB) Dh575,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Blown by Wind, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
3.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh72,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Mazagran, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh64,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner: Obeyaan, Adrie de Vries, Mujeeb Rehman
4.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
'I Want You Back'
Director:Jason Orley
Stars:Jenny Slate, Charlie Day
Rating:4/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars
