Sales at duty-free shops drop in Nov.

SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Yonhap) -- Sales at duty-free shops in airports and downtown Seoul sank in November due to an economic slump, a customs office said Sunday.

According to the Korea Customs Service, sales at duty-free retailers reached
US$199.3 million last month, a drop of 14.4 percent from $232.8 million a year
earlier.
The customs agency said sales at duty-free shops fell as overseas travels by
Koreans fell amid an economic slump and a weaker local currency prodded them to
reduce spending.
Locals bought products worth $72.6 million at duty-free retailers last month,
compared with $166.3 million a year earlier.
On the other hand, spending by foreign tourists at duty-free shops increased to
$126.6 million from $66.5 million over the cited period, according to the customs
office.
A surge in the Japanese yen versus the Korean won drove Japanese travelers to buy
more products at duty-free shops, it said.
In the first 11 months of the year, sales at duty-free shops reached $24.01
billion, compared with $23.98 billion a year earlier, according to the office.