Tourists eat halal-certified snacks at the Global Lounge in Lotte Department Store's main branch in downtown Seoul in this file photo. / Courtesy of Lotte Department Store



By Park Jae-hyuk

A prayer room for Muslim shoppers will open this Wednesday at Lotte Department Store Avenuel's World Tower branch in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul.

The 49.6-square-meter room will be the country's first and only Muslim prayer room set up by a local retailer, according to Lotte Department Store, Sunday.

Lotte divided the prayer space in two ─ for women and men, placing copies of the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, and prayer rugs in the room. It will install foot baths and mark the Qibla, the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays.

Three winners of an Indonesia beauty pageant, who will come to Korea this week, will visit the prayer room. Their visits will be broadcast on Indosiar TV, an Indonesian TV station.

"As a growing number of Muslim tourists visit our stores, we have come up with promotions and begun to offer amenities for them," a Lotte Department Store official said. "We will carry out additional promotions for tourists from all over the world, including Muslim customers."

The number of Muslim tourists to Korea reached 980,000 last year, up 33 percent from 2015.

Korean retailers are catering more towards Muslim tourists amid the decline in Chinese tourists, who have become reluctant to visit Korea amid a political conflict over a U.S. anti-missile defense system.

The number of Chinese tourists to Korea dropped 66.4 percent in June from a year ago, following Beijing's de facto order for Chinese tour agencies to stop offering group tours to Korea.

To cope with declining sales, Lotte therefore plans to carry out various marketing campaigns to attract tourists from Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Cooperating with the Korea Muslim Federation and the Korea Tourism Organization, the retail company will distribute maps indicating halal restaurants here and 30 prayer rooms located at major tourist spots and international airports by the end of this month.

The Seoul-based firm will designate Muslim-friendly restaurants at its main branch in downtown Seoul and the Jamsil store as well, so Muslim visitors can more easily find food they can enjoy.

Starting from this Wednesday, every Muslim shopper can receive facial masks and 10,000 won ($8.7) vouchers. They can also enjoy halal-certified snacks and tea at the Global Lounges in Lotte Department Store's Jamsil and main branches.

Lotte said it will continue marketing campaigns for Muslim tourists for the rest of the year.