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Busan hits peak foreign tourism with more than 1 million visitors this year

Published: 16 Jun. 2025, 14:11 Updated: 16 Jun. 2025, 18:30

Foreign tourists crowd Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan on May 26. [YONHAP]

Over one million foreign tourists visited Busan in the first four months of 2025, a pace faster than any year since the city began officially tracking arrivals in 2014.

A total of 1,061,284 foreign tourists visited the city from January through April, the Busan Metropolitan Government said Monday.

The figure marks a 24 percent increase from the same period last year, when Busan had already recovered to pre-pandemic levels with 858,656 foreign visitors.

Visitors from Taiwan accounted for the largest group at 192,214, followed by China with 157,953, Japan with 134,917, United States at 73,344 and the Philippines at 56,172.

The number of tourists from Vietnam at 55,035, Hong Kong at 46,096 and India at 19,633, all rose by more than 40 percent compared to the previous year, indicating a broadening base of international visitors.

The number of visitors from Taiwan and China has particularly risen sharply since last year. Busan welcomed 500,456 tourists from Taiwan, overtaking Japan as the city's largest source of foreign visitors. The number of Taiwanese visitors last year grew 94.7 percent compared to 2023.

Locals and tourists spend the holiday at Haeundae Beach in Busan on May 5. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Busan credited the growth to a mix of strategies, including promotion of its food tourism scene, expanded cruise ship itineraries and greater convenience through services such as the Visit Busan Pass and WeChat Pay.

Since the launch of the Michelin Guide’s Busan edition last year, the city has promoted both high-end restaurants helmed by Michelin-starred chefs and hidden gems under the branding of “Taeksyullaeng,” a portmanteau of “taxi” and “Michelin.”

The campaign aims to boost visitor satisfaction by highlighting both luxury and affordable dining options.

Officials also said that marketing efforts targeting cruise operators in cities like Shanghai, Manila and Tokyo contributed to the uptick in cruise arrivals. Busan has partnered with cruise lines to develop land-based tours linked to port calls.

Tourism infrastructure upgrades have played a role as well.

The city has introduced the Visit Busan Pass, an all-in-one pass offering transportation, sightseeing and discount benefits for foreign travelers.

It has also linked the pass to mobile payment services like WeChat Pay to streamline transactions for Chinese-speaking tourists.

Busan plans to tie major festivals in the second half of the year to Korean pop culture in order to reach its annual goal of attracting three million foreign tourists,

Events such as the Busan International Rock Festival and the Busan Fireworks Festival will be packaged as K-content tourism experiences.

Busan also aims to expand its marine tourism infrastructure by introducing amphibious buses and water taxis and boosting long-stay tourism through programs like “Living in Busan for a Month.”

Busan ranked second among eight major Northeast Asian cities in a recent customer satisfaction analysis by Tripadvisor, based on data from over 12.46 million registered tourism products.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY LEE EUN-JI [[email protected]]