Japanese Tourists at 'Jagalchi', American Tourists at 'Oryukdo'... Foreign Visitors Flock to Busan

Seomyeon, BIFF Square Area, and Haeundae Also Receive Many Visitors

In the first half of this year, foreign tourists visiting Busan most frequently visited Jung-gu Jagalchi and Gukje Markets. In particular, Japanese tourists were found to prefer these areas.

Jagalchi Market

According to the '2023 First Half Busan Tourism Industry Trend Analysis Report' by the Busan Tourism Organization on the 9th, the number of foreign tourists from January to June this year was recorded at 565,226.

This figure represents a 529.7% increase compared to about 89,000 during the same period last year. Although it does not reach the levels of the first half of 2019 (about 1.32 million) and 2018 (about 1.16 million) before the COVID-19 pandemic, it shows a rapid recovery trend. In fact, based on the most recent data for October this year, the number was about 224,000, approaching the pre-pandemic figure of 250,000 in 2019.

Busan Jagalchi Market [Image source=Yonhap News]

Total expenditure by foreign visitors in the first half also reached 260.7 billion KRW, consistently recording over 50 billion KRW each month with 55.6 billion KRW in April, 54.1 billion KRW in May, and 56.8 billion KRW in June. The highest spending was on accommodation at about 70.87 billion KRW, followed by 63.37 billion KRW at department stores and duty-free shops, and 18.71 billion KRW at discount stores and supermarkets.

The Busan tourist spot where foreign visitors spent the most money was Seomyeon, with 37.03 billion KRW. This was followed by Haeundae Beach (22.04 billion KRW) and Centum City (20.29 billion KRW).

The area most visited by foreign tourists was Jung-gu Jagalchi and Gukje Markets, with about 77,000 visitors. Next were Busan Seomyeon (70,000 visitors), BIFF Square area (62,000 visitors), Haeundae Beach (60,000 visitors), and Haeundae Market (60,000 visitors).

By nationality, Americans were the most numerous with about 94,000 visitors, followed by Chinese with about 68,000. Next were Austrians (54,000), Japanese (53,000), and Hong Kong visitors (34,000).

The view of downtown Busan

Preferred areas varied by nationality: Japanese visitors frequently visited Jagalchi and Gukje Markets, Busan Seomyeon, and the BIFF Square area. American visitors preferred Oryukdo and Igidae Galmaetgil, Songjeong Beach, and Dongbaek Island, while Taiwanese visitors favored Gamcheon Culture Village, Dalmaji Hill, Osiria, and Haedong Yonggungsa Temple.

Meanwhile, the government announced a goal to attract 20 million foreign tourists and achieve tourism revenue of 24.5 billion USD next year. On the afternoon of the 8th, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo chaired the 8th National Tourism Strategy Meeting at the National Asian Culture Complex in Gwangju and announced the 'Republic of Korea Tourism Export Innovation Strategy' containing these plans.

Prime Minister Han emphasized, "As the tourism market shows signs of recovery this year, the government must make every effort to achieve the best results ever next year."