Busan Port Authority: "Successfully Operated Eight Overnight Cruise Calls This Year"

[Financial News] Busan's cruise tourism is expanding from a 'port-of-call' model, in which ships simply stop and leave, to a 'stay-over' model involving stays of at least one night. The shift comes as overnight cruises continue to arrive at the Busan North Port Cruise Terminal, which now operates around the clock.
BPA announced on the 28th that it had successfully completed this year's eight overnight cruise calls at Port of Busan, with Azamara Pursuit's arrival at the port on the 24th marking the final call.
This year, overnight cruises operated by global luxury cruise lines—including Oceania Cruises, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Ponant, Seabourn, The World and Azamara—continued to call at Port of Busan. On the 18th, The World, on a two-night, three-day itinerary, and Diamond Princess, on a one-night, two-day itinerary, stayed at Port of Busan simultaneously, lighting up the Busan North Port Cruise Terminal late into the night. About 470 passengers from the two ships enjoyed Busan's nighttime tourism. 
Several luxury cruise lines, including The World, have repeatedly requested calls at Port of Busan involving longer stays—one night and two days or two nights and three days—so passengers can spend more time sightseeing in Busan.
In response, BPA held continued consultations with customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) authorities to extend the cruise terminal's operating hours and establish measures to accommodate cruise passengers during nighttime hours.
Busan Metropolitan City Government and Busan Tourism Organization (BTO) also used this port call as an opportunity for stay-over tourism, allowing cruise passengers to experience Busan at night and in their daily lives. To this end, they operated onboard tourist information desks and used concierge services to provide information needed for independent travel, including taxis, currency exchange, shopping and telecommunications. They also supported 'Gwangalli Night Tourism' for passengers who wished to participate.
Thanks to these efforts, a total of 5,901 passengers traveled on this year's overnight cruises, and 1,470 of them were recorded as having continued sightseeing in Busan until after 10 p.m. 
Through this year's operations, BPA confirmed that overnight cruises could develop beyond simply keeping ships in port for longer into a stay-over cruise model that extends the time cruise tourists spend in Busan and connects their visits with local tourism and spending.
Based on the operational experience built up this year, BPA plans to continue expanding marketing aimed at global cruise lines. It is targeting more than 20 overnight cruise calls at Port of Busan by 2030. Next year, around 10 overnight calls are scheduled by luxury cruise lines such as Azamara, Ponant, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and Silversea. 
By attracting overnight cruises, BPA plans to increase the time passengers spend at Port of Busan and gradually advance the port into a quasi-home port and then a home port, thereby promoting the qualitative growth of Busan's cruise industry.
Song Sang-geun, president of BPA, said, "The biggest driving force behind our successful operation of eight overnight cruise calls at Port of Busan this year was the active cooperation of the relevant immigration, customs and quarantine (CIQ) authorities," adding, "This cooperative system is an important competitive advantage that enables global cruise lines and customers to trust Port of Busan." 
[email protected] Kwon Byeong-seok Reporter