BC Card: Vietnamese tourists are biggest spenders in RoK
VOV.VN - Data released by Korean credit card issuer BC Card on July 28 shows that the number of transactions made by Vietnamese tourists in the Republic of Korea (RoK) during the first half of the year saw the sharpest growth among other visitors, increasing by 468% on-year.
BC Card noted that this strong growth in Vietnamese tourists' transactions stood significantly higher compared to those of all other foreign tourists, which stood at 358%.
It shared that by region, Seoul, Jeju Island, Gyeonggi province, Busan, and South Jeolla province all witnessed a surge of over 300% in the number of transactions by Vietnamese tourists.
“It showed that Vietnamese tourists travel widely across the country, underscoring their potential to spur consumption nationwide,” BC Card stressed.
In terms of retail sectors, BC Card noted that those which recorded the highest increase rate were fashion accessories and clothing, which jumped by 984% and 696% from last year, respectively.
According to information given by koreaherald.com, having signed a major partnership deal with NAPAS last year in order to promote non-cash payments by Vietnamese tourists in the RoK, BC Card has proactively established payment networks in an effort to enable Vietnamese tourists to use their local NAPAS card.
NAPAS is the major payment network operator in Vietnam which has issued over 100 million cards. However, it added that payments by NAPAS card are only possible at some major duty-free shops and convenience stores within the country.
"If card payments using NAPAS cards are available nationwide, it will significantly boost the revenue of the overall domestic tourism industry,” BC Card said in the released statement.