HONG KONG — Chinese tourist numbers are recovering across Asia after a COVID-19 pandemic-era contraction, buoyed by the expansion of visa-free policies and a stronger yuan. But one thing has not returned: the spending sprees that used to boost duty-free retailers around the world. The trend can be clearly seen in Korea, which relied on Chinese travelers for 70 percent of its duty-free sales before the pandemic. Around 5 million visitors from China arrived in the country during the first 11 months of 2025, a recovery to 92.3 percent of 2019 levels. But duty-free sales not only failed to rebound; instead they actually fell to levels last seen in 2015. Sales at Korea’s duty-free shops declined 12 percent year on year to $80.6 billion between January and November last year, according to the Korea Duty-Free Shops Association. In a sign of the times, two of the country’s duty-free retail giants — Shilla Duty Free and Shinsegae Duty Free — gave up parts of their concessions at Incheon International Airport in September and October, citing sluggish sales and soaring rental fees. The l