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What Will Be Busan’s Standout Tourism Star This Year? Launch of the “2026 Busan Tourism Star Company Recruitment”

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Park Heong-joon, and the Busan Tourism Organization, headed by President Lee Jeong-sil, announced that the Busan Tourism Business Support Center (Director Kim Moon-jun, hereinafter referred to as the Center) will conduct the “2026 Busan Tourism Star Company Recruitment” to identify key players who will lead the regional tourism industry in the era of 50 million foreign tourists.

Applications will be accepted from today (April 22) through May 27. Eligible applicants are small and medium-sized enterprises, as defined under the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises, with headquarters located in Busan, at least three years of business experience, and an average annual revenue of KRW 1 billion or more over the past three years.

Selected companies will serve as key drivers in strengthening Busan’s brand competitiveness as a global tourism city and enhancing the sustainability of the local tourism ecosystem.

Selected Busan Tourism Star Companies will receive a certificate and plaque along with KRW 10 million in commercialization funding. In addition, based on detailed expert diagnostics, each company will be provided with KRW 10 million in tailored curation support to analyze its characteristics and current status and design practical improvement measures.

Furthermore, through networks with related organizations such as the Korea Tourism Organization and global online travel agencies (OTAs), participants will be offered opportunities to expand domestic and international market channels and form strategic partnerships with mid-sized and large enterprises. This initiative aims to enhance brand influence while improving service quality and reliability.

Starting with newly selected companies in 2026, benefits will be significantly expanded in connection with Busan’s Excellent Company Certification. These include discounts on public parking facilities and Gwangan Bridge tolls, additional points in overseas marketing support programs, and preferential access to SME operational and development financing, providing substantial support for business management.

In line with the expanded benefits, selection criteria have also been strengthened. The minimum average annual revenue requirement has been raised from KRW 300 million to KRW 1 billion, focusing on companies with stable management and strong growth potential.

The evaluation process will comprehensively assess ESG management practices, safety management systems, job creation capacity, contributions to local tourism, alignment with the city’s brand, and crisis response capabilities. Final selections—approximately five companies—will be determined in June following eligibility screening, document review, and presentation evaluation.

Applications can be submitted through the Busan Tourism Business Support Center website (tourbiz.bto.or.kr), and inquiries can be directed to the operations office at 1577-7020.

Meanwhile, Busan Metropolitan City and the Center are pursuing a two-track strategy to foster both established star companies leading the tourism industry and high-potential rookie startups. Through this approach, they aim to expand an open innovation ecosystem where companies of various sectors and sizes collaborate organically, enabling the exchange of know-how from star companies and ideas and new technologies from tourism startups.

Over the past five years, the selected star companies have demonstrated strong employment growth and revenue increases despite challenging conditions, serving as a solid backbone of the regional tourism industry. The city and the Center expect these success stories to spread throughout corporate culture and further enhance the competitiveness of the tourism industry.

Na Yoon-bin, Director General of the Tourism MICE Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, stated, “Through this recruitment, we aim to identify key partners who will drive the qualitative growth of Busan’s tourism industry. We will actively support these star companies so that they can go beyond individual success to become leaders of the local tourism sector and representative brands of Korea.”