Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Holds Joint Meeting with Related Agencies to Welcome Visa-Free Chinese Group Tourists

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that on the afternoon of September 25 at 4:30 p.m., a meeting was held in the City Hall conference room, presided over by the Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs, to review preparations for the implementation of visa-free entry for Chinese group tourists.

The meeting was attended by the Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs, the Busan Tourism Association, Gimhae Airport, and designated Chinese travel agencies.

< Visa-Free Entry System for Chinese Group Tourists >

• ●Period: September 29, 2025 – June 30, 2026 (temporary implementation)

• ●Duration of stay: Travel allowed throughout Korea for up to 15 days

• ●Eligibility: Chinese group tourists of three or more, organized only through designated travel agencies
  ※ Jeju Island: Maintains existing visa-free entry (30 days for both individual and group Chinese tourists)

This meeting was convened against the positive trend of increasing Chinese tourist arrivals in Busan, with the goal of accelerating efforts to attract visa-free Chinese group tourists.

As of July this year, a cumulative total of approximately 315,000 Chinese tourists visited Busan, an increase of about 36 percent compared to the same period last year (231,000 visitors).

During the meeting, the participants thoroughly reviewed measures to ensure that Chinese group tourists visiting Busan would not experience inconvenience. They focused on initiatives by each sector, including the Tourism Association, airport, immigration, Korea Tourism Organization, and port authority.

The Busan Tourism Association pledged to strengthen tailored services such as operating tourist information centers, inspecting facilities, and supporting cruise tourists. A total of 710 member companies, 7 information centers, and a 34-person inspection team will participate in satisfaction surveys and environmental checks, alongside monitoring major sites such as Taejongdae and reviewing signage. Support for cruise tourists will also expand, including shuttle buses, welcome events, and staff for tax refund services.

Gimhae Airport will conduct special facility inspections, optimize staffing, and reinforce Chinese-language services and guidance systems to ensure convenience for travelers as Chinese routes increase.

The Gimhae Airport Immigration Office will strengthen Chinese interpretation services, operate an interpreter pool, and enhance friendliness and security training for inspectors to create a smooth entry process.

The Korea Tourism Organization will reinforce training for Chinese-speaking tourist interpreters, promote familiarization tours through designated travel agencies, and organize joint campaigns with WeChat Pay and Alipay during the Chinese National Day holiday period (October 1–8). Efforts will include providing mobile payment discount coupons and joint marketing to create a welcoming atmosphere.

The Busan Tourism Organization will conduct preemptive promotional campaigns (June–November), run year-round seasonal theme promotions, introduce WeChat Pay and Alipay at souvenir shops, and expand accessibility to the Seoul metropolitan area through new offline exchange points for the Visit Busan Pass at Incheon and Gimpo International Airports. Additional measures include special safety inspections of city tours, random monitoring evaluations, and multilingual announcements to enhance convenience.

The Busan Port Authority will diversify cruise terminal functions, provide immigration convenience for large cruise passengers (such as onboard inspection in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice), and strengthen collaboration between maritime and tourism industries and the public sector. Marketing efforts targeting cruise lines will also be expanded.

In addition, Chinese designated travel agencies, the Busan and Yeongnam branch of the Korea Tourist Interpreter Association, and Busan Duty Free Shops attended the meeting to explore cooperative measures in response to the anticipated surge in Chinese group tourists.

Meanwhile, Busan has recently achieved unprecedented milestones in the tourism sector: surpassing 2 million foreign visitors in July, the fastest record to date; recording an all-time high of 555.8 billion KRW in tourism expenditure in July; and seeing record-high cumulative visitors (21.98 million) to Busan’s beaches during the 2025 season, the largest since COVID-19.

Lee Jun-seung, Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs, stated, “The rapid growth of the vast Chinese tourism market is breathing new energy into Busan’s tourism industry. Building on the implementation of visa-free entry for Chinese group tourists, we will pursue more aggressive overseas marketing to achieve 3 million foreign visitors ahead of schedule and ensure Busan takes a leap forward as a global tourism city attracting worldwide attention.”