The department store operator said they will open a 49.6
square meter room, separated for men and women, at its store in Jamsil, west of
Seoul, on Wednesday. The room will have copies of the Quran, the religious text
of Islam, and foot baths.
Lotte said it is the first time for a local retailer to
designate a prayer room for Muslim tourists.
The retailer is also planning
to certify Muslim-friendly restaurants at its stores in Jamsil and Myeongdong
in downtown Seoul to meet different demands from the Muslim population.
In 2016, some 980,000 Muslim tourists visited South
Korea, up 33 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Korea
Tourism Organization.
Local retailers have been ramping up efforts to diversify
their tourist portfolio to overcome the sharp decline in the number of Chinese
visitors in the face of a diplomatic row over the deployment of a US
anti-missile system there.
In June, the number of Chinese tourists in South Korea
plunged 66.4 percent compared to the same period last year, marking the fourth
straight month of decline after Beijing banned the sale of group tour packages
in mid-March.
Source: The Korea Herald