Playing a Key Role as a Global Marketing Platform
A dedicated ‘pass card’ for foreign tourists visiting Busan has been selling like hotcakes.
Busan City (Mayor Park Hyung-jun) and the Busan Tourism Organization announced on the 21st that the foreigner-exclusive tourist pass, ‘Visit Busan Pass,’ has recorded a cumulative sales volume of 310,000 cards since its launch.
The cumulative number of uses at affiliated free admission sites reached 1.65 million, establishing it as an essential item for traveling in Busan. Since its release in February 2023, the pass sold a total of 312,826 cards by the end of last year, amounting to 21.7 billion KRW. Sales in 2024 reached 221,695 cards, about 2.5 times more than the 91,131 cards sold in 2023.
The ‘Visit Busan Pass’ is a free-pass type tourist card primarily targeting individual foreign tourists. It allows users to enjoy verified popular tourist attractions cost-effectively without purchasing separate admission tickets, saving both time and money.
The pass comes in four types: two time-limited options (24-hour and 48-hour passes) and two quantity-limited options (BIG3 and BIG5), available in both card and mobile formats.
There are 42 paid tourist attractions where pass holders can enter for free. These include major Busan attractions such as ▲Songdo Marine Cable Car ▲Haeundae Blueline Park Beach Train ▲X The Sky Observatory ▲Skyline Luge ▲Lotte World Adventure, among others.
Among the 161 special discount affiliates for this pass are Michelin Guide restaurants and various shopping facilities. Positive user reviews on global online travel agencies (OTAs) reached a 4.5 rating from 97% of users, with cost-effectiveness and convenience highlighted as key advantages.
The pass products are designed to match the length of stay and travel styles of foreign tourists. Among them, the 48-hour pass accounts for more than 58% of total sales, indicating its effectiveness in encouraging stays of two nights or more. The 24-hour pass accounts for 26% of sales.
Affiliate selection focuses on regional balance, moving beyond the Haeundae and Gwangalli areas to showcase Busan’s diverse attractions. Additionally, as the number of users increases, the promotional effect for local tourism businesses affiliated with the pass has proven to be excellent.
The pass continuously expands new affiliates through biannual recruitment and selection in the first and second halves of the year. In October last year, two locations in Yeongdo-gu?Arte Museum and Ocean Flying Theme Park?were added. Arte Museum saw about 1,700 visitors over three months, expected to help disperse tourist traffic and invigorate the local economy.
Busan City anticipates that this balanced discovery of affiliates will help redirect tourists from the eastern area to the western area, addressing regional imbalances. Along with this, linking tourism products with public transportation and offering free city bus rides are expected to make east-west travel easier for tourists.
Among the affiliates, Haeundae’s ‘Blueline Park Beach Train’ and Seo-gu’s ‘Songdo Marine Cable Car’ are popular spots with a high proportion of pass users.
To enhance user convenience, Busan City has added web and app features such as navigation, pass gifting, and integration with the ‘Busan Pay’ system, with plans to continuously improve system functions.
The ‘Busan Pay’ app, the nation’s first foreigner-exclusive local currency, is linked with the system to allow purchase and use of the ‘Visit Busan Pass’ mobile pass. When paying at small businesses with ‘Busan Pay,’ users can also enjoy cashback benefits.
Busan City has set a sales target of 240,000 passes for this year. Various promotions, including a one-plus-one (1+1) discount event, will be held during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday. Furthermore, on- and offline promotions tailored to the diverse demands of different countries will intensify efforts to attract foreign tourists.
Kim Hyun-jae, Director of the Tourism and MICE Bureau of Busan City, said, “The Visit Busan Pass is attracting many foreign tourists to Busan and leading the development of the global tourism industry,” adding, “We will continue to expand benefits so that this pass contributes to revitalizing the local economy and tourism market as a global tourism marketing platform.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
