Sunset and Night View Together ‘One Night on the Sea’... Enjoy Busan on a Yacht Full of Romance

As the full summer season approaches, 'yacht tours', a part of tourism leisure, are gaining attention among tourists visiting the sea of Busan.

Yachttale, a first-generation yacht company in Busan and the first to introduce the concept of 'yacht stay' in Korea, is busy preparing for tourists this summer.

Kim Geon-woo, CEO of Yachttale, said in an interview with Busan Financial News on the 27th, "We are operating a yacht rental business centered around the sea areas of Gwangalli and Haeundae at reasonable prices to break the stereotype that yachts are expensive."

He is lowering the price barrier for yachts by operating rentals on an hourly basis and is showcasing various operational methods to meet consumer demand, including group boarding and private (for 2 people, etc.) boarding.

Yachttale is a specialized marine leisure company established in 2015 when yacht tourism was still unfamiliar in Busan. At that time, Busan's yacht industry mainly consisted of ship purchase and sale transactions or leisure activities through membership operations, with few regular leisure products that anyone could easily enjoy.

Kim said, "When I started the business over 10 years ago, there were about three yacht companies in Busan. Although yacht tourism was not popular at the time, now, 10 years later, there are over 40 yacht companies in Busan, making it a pillar of Busan's marine tourism," adding, "In particular, Yachttale focused on specialized businesses through the initial 'yacht stay' product, which utilizes yachts as accommodation." Yacht stay is literally a tourism product where you stay on a yacht floating on the sea.

Kim, who was studying as a doctoral student majoring in marine leisure tourism at Pukyong National University in the past, had researched marine tourism and the yacht field. In early 2015, he happened to see a poster for the Korea Tourism Organization's tourism venture contest, which led to success and allowed him to start a business. Submitting a business plan with yacht stay as an item was selected, leading to the founding of Yachttale.

He said, "In 2013, while attending graduate school, I went to the Netherlands for a thesis presentation. While looking for accommodation, I saw a boatel and tried it for the first time, realizing that the utility of yachts was broader than I thought," adding, "When I researched the yacht market in Busan, I found that no one was using yachts at night, and after talking with yacht owners, I saw a great demand for yacht rental revenue, seeing the potential for a new market."

Starting with just one yacht, Yachttale has continued to grow annually, achieving 1 billion won in annual sales in just 3 years, and is gradually expanding its business scale. Although the business started by specializing in yacht accommodation, it also operates a rental service for around 20,000 won per hour to lower the usage barrier for yachts. Kim explained that it is significant that they were the first to corporatize yacht rental services in Korea.

Currently, they have significantly expanded their business scale, operating a total of 10 yachts at three locations: The Bay 101 Marina Harbor in Haeundae, Suyeongman Yacht Stadium, and Suyeonggang Haeundae River Cruise Marina Dock. Yacht tourism operates four types of products: 'Public Tour' for groups of more than 10 passengers, 'Private Tour', an exclusive rental product, event-specialized products like night proposals, and yacht stay.

Kim cited human resources and continuous program planning as the driving forces behind business growth. He said, "We have been continuing the business with professional personnel with over 5 to 20 years of experience. We support training fees for obtaining certifications and are working to continuously provide such systems to support the growth of individual employees," adding, "Also, Yachttale's strength is that we have been constantly making new attempts, such as developing a yacht reservation management platform recently, starting with yacht stay in the early days of the business. We will continue to actively attempt changes in line with trends."

Yachttale is also working on popularizing yachts by operating a 1-hour rental product for visitors who want to experience yacht boarding. The 2-hour rental course, which includes meals, is also receiving a lot of praise from users. Additionally, they operate large yachts that can accommodate up to 30 people for 300,000 to 400,000 won, making it a place for experiential learning for groups such as schools.

They are continuing efforts to attract customers even during the off-season when visits to Busan's sea are sparse. They are conducting overseas marketing targeting foreigners, who have less difference between peak and off-peak seasons, by preparing off-season specials and operating private products combined with night tourism, conveying the charm of Busan's sea tourism in autumn and winter.

Kim said, "Yachts have the charm of directly feeling the wide sea space. There are various types, from speed yachts that race across the sea to large yachts where you can relax comfortably on the sea, allowing you to feel various charms," adding, "Last year, the number of yacht users in the Busan area reached about 1.5 million annually, showing a steep growth in the yacht industry. As interest in yacht tourism grows, related upstream and downstream industries such as yacht repair, storage, and mooring will grow together, becoming a pillar of Busan tourism."

lich0929@fnnews.com Byun Ok-hwan Reporter