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Busan Metropolitan City Partners with Agoda to Usher in the Era of 3 Million Foreign Tourists

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On October 27 at 5:30 p.m., Busan Metropolitan City will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on tourism exchange and cooperation with Agoda, a global online travel agency (OTA), at the Paradise Hotel Busan. Busan will be the first local government in Korea to establish such a partnership with Agoda.

The signing ceremony will be attended by Mayor Park Heong-joon and Andrew Smith, Senior Vice President of Supply at Agoda. The two parties agreed to collaborate on joint marketing initiatives to enhance the global competitiveness of Busan’s tourism brand and attract more international visitors.
Mayor Park emphasized, “By combining Agoda’s global network and technological capabilities with Busan’s rich tourism infrastructure and content, we will further strengthen Busan’s global tourism competitiveness.”

Busan Metropolitan City announced that Mayor Park Heong-joon will sign the MOU on tourism exchange and cooperation with the global online travel platform Agoda (OTA) at 5:30 p.m. on the 27th at the Paradise Hotel Busan.

This MOU aims to establish a strategic partnership with Agoda, one of the fastest-growing global online travel platforms, to attract foreign tourists and revitalize regional tourism.
The signing ceremony will be attended by Mayor Park Heong-joon and Andrew Smith, Senior Vice President of Supply at Agoda, and will be held in conjunction with the 1st Global City Tourism Summit (October 27–29) taking place in Busan this year.

Busan is the first local government in Korea to sign a business cooperation agreement with Agoda.
Agoda is a global online travel platform (OTA) offering over 600,000 hotels and vacation accommodations, 13,000 flight routes, and 300,000 activities, and is widely used in Korea.

To establish itself as a global tourism hub city, Busan and Agoda have agreed to cooperate in the following areas:

• ●Both parties will jointly promote integrated marketing initiatives in major global markets using Agoda’s worldwide online platform.

• ●They will co-develop themed and customized tourism products that reflect market-specific demand and traveler preferences.

• ●They will work together to strengthen the global competitiveness of the Busan tourism brand and expand international visitor attraction.

Meanwhile, Busan’s tourism sector has shown unprecedented growth this year, with the city on the verge of surpassing 3 million foreign visitors for the first time ever.
By July, the city had already achieved the fastest-ever record of 2 million foreign visitors, followed by 2.35 million as of August, continuously breaking previous records.
Cumulative tourism spending reached a record high of KRW 6.594 trillion as of September. Busan’s beaches, which closed for the season in September, recorded 21.98 million visitors—the highest number since the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, according to the Consumer Insight 2025 Summer Vacation Travel Satisfaction Survey, Busan ranked first nationwide in domestic travel satisfaction.

Andrew Smith, Senior Vice President of Supply at Agoda, said, “Through the Agoda platform and our digital tools, we will introduce Busan’s outstanding tourism assets to travelers worldwide in 39 languages across 26 countries, helping more people experience what Busan has to offer. We look forward to seeing Busan become a leading global travel destination through this partnership.”

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “By working with Agoda, we will make it easier for foreign visitors to discover Busan’s hidden cultural and tourism treasures. By combining Agoda’s global network and technological capabilities with Busan’s abundant tourism infrastructure and content, we aim to further enhance Busan’s global tourism competitiveness.”