S Korea's duty free shop sales take a hit from Mers

Seoul

LOTTE Duty Free, South Korea's largest operator of duty-free shops, expects revenue to decline this month as the spread of Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) damps visitor arrivals in the country.

Sales may have declined about 10 per cent so far this month at the company's three outlets in Seoul, and could worsen as the number of visitors from China drops, Lotte Duty Free said in a statement. In addition, some Chinese tourists are cutting short their trips, it added.