Busan is good

Foreign Tourist Arrivals in Busan Near 2 Million... Tourism Spending Ranks Second Nationwide After Seoul

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Busan Metropolitan City announced that the cumulative number of foreign visitors to Busan from January through May 2026 reached 1,936,572, following the record-breaking milestone of surpassing 1 million visitors in the first quarter in the shortest time ever. The city is now steadily progressing toward its annual target of 4 million foreign visitors, having already achieved 48.4% of that goal.

This represents an extraordinary 40% increase compared to the 1,383,758 visitors recorded during the same period last year, outperforming the nationwide average growth rate of 21% by a remarkable 19 percentage points.

By country and region, the largest numbers of foreign visitors came from Taiwan (375,322), China (359,981), Japan (233,685), and the United States (170,587).

China continues to stand out as the fastest-growing source market.

While the number of Chinese visitors nationwide declined by 1.9% compared to the previous month, Busan welcomed 89,275 Chinese visitors in May alone, representing a 2.7% increase over the previous month (72,748) and an explosive 94.0% increase compared to the same month last year (46,025).

This trend further validates the findings released by Yanolja Research in May, in which Busan ranked first in overall satisfaction among major Asian cities selected by Chinese travelers, surpassing Tokyo, Singapore, and Seoul.

In response to rapidly growing demand, Busan Metropolitan City has implemented strategic cruise marketing initiatives. The city became the first local government in Korea to provide 24-hour terminal operations for overnight (two-day, one-night) cruises. It also supported fly-and-cruise homeport products linking air and rail transportation and operated port-of-call tourism programs connected with regionally distinctive festivals.

As a result, 56,556 Chinese travelers entered Korea through Busan Port in May alone, marking a remarkable 901.4% increase compared to 2,652 during the same month last year.

In addition to the traditional key markets of China, Taiwan, and Japan, high-value visitors from North America and Europe are also increasing rapidly.

In May, Busan welcomed 41,324 visitors from the United States, an 80.1% increase year on year. Visitors from major European countries also recorded significant growth, including France with 5,654 visitors (+89.2%) and the United Kingdom with 8,612 visitors (+44.7%), demonstrating the ongoing diversification of Busan's inbound tourism market.

The city attributes this performance to its diversification strategy targeting overseas markets. Since March, Busan has actively promoted the city through major international media outlets, including CNN. Since April, it has also partnered with global online travel agencies (OTAs), including Agoda and Trip.com, to launch large-scale promotional campaigns linked to accommodation festivals.

Driven by this quantitative growth, Busan has also strengthened its position in foreign tourist spending, ranking second nationwide.

According to Korea Tourism Data Lab's credit card big data analysis, Busan has maintained second place nationwide—first among non-capital regions—for three consecutive months since first reaching that position in March.

Foreign tourist spending in Busan reached KRW 132.2 billion in May, more than 2.5 times higher than the KRW 51.2 billion recorded in January. Cumulative spending by foreign visitors from January through May totaled KRW 454.4 billion.

The city also confirmed that attracting foreign visitors through large-scale Korean Wave events is translating into repeat visits, longer stays, and increased local spending.

According to the visitor entrance survey conducted at the BTS THE CITY ARIRANG Busan Welcome Center, which operated at the Busan Eurasia Platform from June 5 to 21, there were 16,971 foreign respondents. Among them, 46.0% were repeat visitors to Busan, while 40.2% stayed for four nights or longer.

In terms of local consumption, 59.1% of foreign respondents selected traditional markets as places where they wished to shop. The proportion was even higher among visitors from North America and Europe (71.9%) and Southeast Asia (69.3%). These findings suggest that hosting large-scale Korean Wave events can encourage repeat visits, extend visitor stays, and stimulate spending in local commercial districts.

Building on this momentum, Busan Metropolitan City plans to further improve convenience for independent travelers in the second half of the year by expanding partnerships with global online travel agencies (OTAs) and enhancing the Visit Busan Pass. The city will also accelerate the introduction of new marine tourism transportation services, including amphibious tour buses and marine taxis, while revitalizing port-of-call tourism to increase cruise visitor satisfaction and strengthen Busan's competitiveness as a marine tourism destination.

In addition, the city will introduce a range of stay-oriented tourism products linked to major events in the second half of the year, including the Busan Fireworks Festival, the city's signature "Starry Sea Busan Night Festa" nighttime tourism brand, and a large-scale gourmet festival scheduled for October. Through these initiatives, Busan aims to further promote local spending by foreign visitors while sustaining both quantitative and qualitative growth in inbound tourism.

Na Yoon-bin, Director General of the Tourism and MICE Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, said, "With Busan on the verge of welcoming its two millionth foreign visitor this year, we are seeing highly encouraging signs, including being ranked the No. 1 most satisfying Asian city by Chinese travelers and firmly establishing ourselves as the nation's second-largest destination for foreign tourist spending. Building on this momentum, we will usher in the era of 4 million annual foreign visitors ahead of schedule."