Keeping Port of Busan Open at Night Brings More Long-Stay Cruises

[Financial News] The Port of Busan cruise terminal is seeing more overnight cruise calls involving extended stays after becoming the first in the country to operate 24 hours a day.
According to the Busan Metropolitan Government on the 18th, the residential luxury cruise ship The World arrived at the Port of Busan that day and will stay for three days and two nights. Five overnight cruise calls have brought ships to Busan so far this year, and two more are scheduled for this month, indicating that long-stay cruise calls are continuing.
The city is focusing its policy efforts on connecting these visits to nighttime tourism and increased local spending through dining, shopping and cultural tourism.
To ensure that passengers aboard The World can safely explore Busan on their own not only during the morning and afternoon but also at night, the city is operating an onboard tourist information center. Through concierge services, it is providing comprehensive information needed for independent travel, including taxis, currency exchange, shopping and telecommunications.
On the 19th, the city will also offer a nighttime tourism program in Gwangalli for passengers who wish to participate. The program will combine a visit to the Gwangalli M Drone Light Show with nearby sightseeing, allowing cruise passengers to enjoy dinner, shopping and cultural tourism.
Special nighttime performances will also be provided for the overnight cruise Azamara Pursuit, which is scheduled to arrive on the 24th.
The city plans to move beyond simply presenting cruise lines with lists of tourist attractions. Instead, it will propose stay-based tourism products that combine nighttime tourism, customized individual itineraries, dedicated transportation, local cuisine and performances, and onboard tourism information.
Building on this approach, the city will continue developing nighttime tourism content and long-stay programs. It also plans to strengthen tailored marketing to global cruise lines by actively promoting Busan's conditions for overnight calls and its tourism offerings to officials responsible for itinerary planning, port-of-call tourism and port operations.
In particular, the city aims to diversify port-of-call tourism products by moving beyond the practice of simply presenting lists of tourist attractions. It will propose integrated stay programs that include nighttime tourism, customized individual itineraries, dedicated transportation, local cuisine and performances, and onboard tourism information.
Na Yun-bin, director general of the Tourism and MICE Bureau, said, "We plan to analyze the travel and spending patterns of tourists on The World and Azamara Pursuit and use the findings to attract more overnight cruises and improve tourism programs. Building on the 24-hour operation of the terminal, we will expand long-stay tourism that allows visitors to experience Busan by day and night, as well as everyday life in the city."
[email protected] Kwon Byung-seok Reporter