From Visiting Tourism to Longer Stays: Busan Bets on Stay-Oriented Tourism

[Financial News] Busan tourism is seeking a paradigm shift from quantitative growth centered simply on visitor numbers to qualitative growth that creates a virtuous cycle of longer stays, increased spending, greater satisfaction, and repeat visits.
Busan Metropolitan City Government said it will hold a “Tourism for Longer Stays, Happy Busan Livelihoods Meeting” at the Eurasia Platform at Busan Station on the afternoon of the 7th.
The meeting was organized to explore ways to develop stay-oriented tourism, following Busan’s unprecedented tourism performance, which recorded 2.92 million foreign tourists and 742.3 billion won in spending as of July.
The event is expected to bring together 13 participants, including Mayor Chun Jae-soo and workers from the tourism sector in gastronomy, accommodation, medical services, wellness, MICE, and cruises, as well as residents of Gamcheon Culture Village.
Before the meeting, Mayor Chun will visit the tourism information center at Busan Station and the luggage delivery service platform Jim Carry to encourage on-site workers and inspect the city’s readiness to welcome visitors at this gateway.
Following the inspection, Busan Metropolitan City Government will completely transform the Eurasia Platform at Busan Station from a simple transportation hub into the “starting point of Busan’s tourism hospitality,” welcoming visitors from around the world.
The concourse at Busan Station will be equipped with digital kiosks. Foreign students and residents will serve as professional supporters, providing mobile multilingual guidance along major routes and shifting the city to an on-site, visitor-centered information system.
In addition, the Eurasia Platform will be developed into a comprehensive tourism center that brings together customized travel support services, Visit Busan Pass and K-culture merchandise sales, and unattended luggage storage.
At the meeting, the city will announce four key strategies under the vision of “Busan, a tourism city that energizes the economy by consuming experiences”: promoting balanced stay-oriented tourism between eastern and western Busan, fostering high-value-added tourism industries, establishing a globally competitive visitor reception system, and creating a sustainable ecosystem of shared growth.
The core of the four strategies is to expand the tourism axis, which is concentrated in eastern Busan, to western Busan and increase visitors’ length of stay and spending by fostering high-value-added tourism industries such as medical services, wellness, and MICE. The city also plans to establish a mutually beneficial model in which tourism and local communities grow together by reducing inconvenience for residents and ensuring that the increase in tourists leads to the revitalization of local businesses and improvements in citizens’ quality of life.
Mayor Chun said, “Now that Busan tourism is experiencing unprecedented growth, this is the optimal time to transform the city from a destination for simple visits into one focused on qualitative growth through longer stays and enjoyment. We will immediately reflect the difficulties and regulations raised on the ground in municipal policies, make improvements swiftly, and complete a mutually beneficial model in which the fruits of tourism revitalize local businesses and improve citizens’ quality of life.”

[email protected] Kwon Byung-seok Reporter