[GLOBAL ECONOMIC TIMES]  The number of Taiwanese and Hong Kong tourists visiting Busan this year is expected to reach an all-time high.

Busan City and the Busan Tourism Organization announced on October 28 that the number of tourists from Taiwan and Hong Kong this year is expected to hit a record high. According to the Busan Tourism Organization, the cumulative number of foreign tourists visiting Busan from January to August this year reached 1.9 million. Among these, Taiwanese tourists accounted for the largest proportion at 323,903, a 209% increase from 154,832 in the same period last year, while Hong Kong accounted for the largest number at 80,808 (493% increase from 16,386 in the same period last year). showed growth.

Busan City and the Busan Tourism Organization interpreted it as the result of various efforts to attract foreign tourists. In the first half of this year, the Busan Tourism Organization supported the filming of Taiwan's popular entertainment programs in Busan and carried out numerous online promotions, including the Taipei International Women's Exhibition (TTE) in May, the Hong Kong International Tourism Expo (ITE) in June, and the Taipei Busan Brand in July. It was revealed that promotions were also actively carried out offline, including store road shows.

We plan to continue our attraction efforts in the future. First, we will participate in the Taipei International Travel Fair (November 1-4), Taiwan's largest exhibition, together with 15 companies in the Busan tourism industry and promote B2B consultation and B2C promotion. In early December, they will participate in the K-POP (Indie Band) & Gourmet Festival in Kaohsiung, the largest city in southern Taiwan, to promote the theme of ‘Busan Gourmet’. Joint promotion for airlines to increase flights and launch routes will also be promoted. Starting with the launch of Jeju Air's Kaohsiung-Busan route (October 29th), a hospitality event will be held in line with the launch of Air Busan's Hong Kong-Busan route (November 14th). To revitalize the Hong Kong route, we plan to conduct a product development fam tour of Busan, inviting the Hong Kong tourism industry.

Lee Jeong-sil, president of the Busan Tourism Organization, said, “Going forward, we will continue to develop local tourism products to improve the quality of marketing in the Greater China region, and we will strengthen not only the promotion of Busan’s unique content but also the expansion of attracting special purpose tourists (SITs).” 

[Copyright (c) Global Economic Times. All Rights Reserved.]