Busan is good

Busan to Sell Tourism Products Directly Through Global OTAs, Targeting the Era of 5 Million International Visitors

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) and the Busan Tourism Organization (President Lee Jeong-sil) announced that they will simultaneously launch two public calls — the “Busan K-Tourism Content FIT Product Planning Exhibition” and the “Busan Tourism Businesses Global OTA Entry Coordinating and Consulting Program” — to develop tourism products utilizing Busan tourism content and expand global distribution channels.

This initiative is one of the specialized promotion projects under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s “Southern Region Wide-Area Tourism Development Plan.”

The program aims to discover and cultivate diverse K-tourism content in Busan — including marine tourism, gastronomy, beauty, wellness, K-culture, and e-sports — as marketable tourism products. It will also support local tourism businesses in entering global Online Travel Agency (OTA) platforms to expand international visitor arrivals and strengthen the competitiveness of the tourism industry.

OTA (Online Travel Agency): An online intermediary platform that sells airline tickets, accommodations, rental cars, packages, and other travel services.

As travel trends rapidly shift from group tours to independent travelers (FIT), developing local tourism content into marketable tourism products and establishing distribution structures through global platforms have emerged as key challenges for enhancing tourism competitiveness.

In response, Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan Tourism Organization plan to build a foundation for branding and regularizing Busan-style K-tourism content through two public call programs that simultaneously support tourism product development and global sales. They will also actively promote the creation of an industry ecosystem that enables the self-sustaining expansion of privately led tourism products.

The “Busan K-Tourism Content FIT Product Planning Exhibition” is a project that supports the development of 20 experiential tourism products for independent travelers (FIT) using Busan’s tourism resources and their sale through global Online Travel Agency (OTA) platforms.

Companies registered as travel agencies under the Tourism Promotion Act may participate in the public call, and travel agencies may also participate in consortiums with content production companies.

Selected participants will develop themed tourism products utilizing Busan tourism content and register them for sale on global Online Travel Agency (OTA) platforms such as NOL and Klook.

Product themes may be developed based on various tourism content in Busan, including the following:
Film, drama, OTT, and webtoon-based visual content industries; night tourism; temple stays; gastronomy, beauty, and fashion; marine leisure experiences; K-culture experiences and e-sports; and traditional market tourism.

Selected products will receive support of up to 20 million won per product, including product development costs, operational expenses, and promotional and marketing expenses.

The “Busan Tourism Businesses Global OTA Entry Coordinating and Consulting Program” will select three professional implementing organizations with expertise in onboarding and operating global Online Travel Agency (OTA) platforms. These organizations will support the entire process of selling tourism products on global OTA platforms for local small businesses and individual tourism operators.

Corporations located in Busan may apply for the program. Selected implementing organizations will support the entire process of entering global online distribution channels, including identifying tourism businesses in Busan, providing training and consulting for entry into global OTA platforms, and supporting onboarding and the launch of product sales on these platforms.

Through this project, Busan Metropolitan City plans to support local small businesses and individual tourism operators with strong potential for attracting tourists to sell tourism products through global platforms and systematically strengthen the foundation for entering global distribution networks.

Selected implementing organizations will receive support funding of up to 40 million won depending on project performance.

Through this public call program, Busan Metropolitan City intends to strengthen a structure that connects the commercialization of local tourism content to distribution and performance creation, while continuously expanding the foundation for attracting international tourists through linkages with global Online Travel Agency (OTA) platforms.

Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan Tourism Organization will begin the public call process for both projects within this month. After document submission and evaluation procedures, implementing organizations and participating companies will be selected, and full-scale product development, distribution, and OTA entry support will be carried out throughout the year.

Detailed information and participation guidelines for the public calls can be found on the Busan Tourism Organization website at https://www.bto.or.kr through the Notice and Events section.

Na Yun-bin, Director General of the Tourism MICE Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, stated, “Busan’s tourism resources are now entering a stage where they are no longer simply ‘content to view’ but are transforming into products that can be purchased, experienced, and consumed. This public call will serve as a practical turning point for the local industry to advance into the global tourism market together.”

He added, “As this project is being implemented as part of the Southern Region Wide-Area Tourism Development Project, we expect it to contribute to the expansion of tourism content across the southern region centered on Busan and to the formation of a super-regional tourism zone.”