Kick-off Briefing Held at City Hall on the 9th
Summit Implementation Plans, Execution Schedules, and Concrete Directions Established
Laying the Foundation for Regularization and Branding
Global Tourism Policymakers and High-Level Officials to Participate
Aiming for Tourism Exchange, Cooperation, and Regularization
Goal: Growth into a Global Integrated Tourism Platform
Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Hyungjoon) and the Tourism Promotion Organization for Asia Pacific Cities (TPO) held a kick-off briefing session for the "1st Global City Tourism Summit" on May 9 in the main conference room at Busan City Hall, officially launching preparations for the event.
The briefing was attended by over 20 key stakeholders, including the Director of the Busan Tourism MICE Bureau, Kang Daeun, Secretary-General of TPO, Lee Jeongsil, CEO of Busan Tourism Organization, and Jeon Yongwoo, CEO of the Busan Global City Foundation.
Participants established concrete implementation plans and schedules for the summit, setting a clear direction for execution. They also took the first step toward successfully hosting the summit and laying the groundwork for its regularization and branding.
This summit, being held for the first time this year, is an exchange and cooperation event in the tourism sector, bringing together global tourism policymakers and high-level officials from related organizations. Going forward, the aim is to regularize the summit and develop it into an integrated platform that encompasses global tourism policy development, business networking, and intercity exchange.
The event is co-hosted by the city, TPO, and the Busan Tourism Organization.
The summit seeks to take the lead in setting the global tourism agenda, presenting a pioneering growth model for the future tourism industry. It will also serve as a venue for government, related organizations, and companies to identify actionable topics and strengthen cooperation between cities.
The "1st Global City Tourism Summit" will take place across Busan from October 27 to 29, 2025, over a period of three days.
The main theme of the inaugural summit, "Local Tourism and Cultural Enhancement: Innovation and Cooperation," was selected through two rounds of expert advisory meetings held in December 2024 and April 2025.
Main programs include: special dialogues, mayoral talks, bilateral and multilateral meetings, the announcement of a joint communiqu? as official high-level events, as well as a welcome reception, business matchmaking sessions, and a tourism roadshow as exchange-focused side events.
Additionally, there will be joint sessions with the UN Tourism Organization, thematic sessions involving domestic and international cities, related agencies, experts, and companies, and special sessions with participation from multilateral international bodies.
Furthermore, the summit will be integrated with the 2nd Busan Global City Week, held during the same period, to offer a diverse range of programs, broaden the scope of urban diplomacy, and maximize synergy effects.
Last year, the city expanded the existing Busan Global City Forum to launch "Busan Global City Week." This event was held to enhance Busan's city brand value as a global hub city and to strengthen its international leadership by promoting exchanges and cooperation in various fields with delegations from sister and friendship cities.
The "1st Global City Tourism Summit" was selected in March 2025 as a "Regional Signature International Conference" in the "2025 Global K-Convention Development Project" contest, hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea Tourism Organization, securing up to 600 million won in national funding.
Kang Daeun, Secretary-General of TPO, stated, "Through this summit, we plan to strategically cooperate with cities around the world in the tourism sector and further strengthen our position as a diplomatic platform."
Kim Hyunjae, Director of the Busan Tourism MICE Bureau, said, "By hosting the '1st Global City Tourism Summit' as a leading global tourism city, we aim to highlight the potential value of each city's tourism sector and create opportunities to share information and knowledge with advanced tourism cities. Through this, Busan can take another step toward establishing a global tourism integrated platform led by the city."
Busan City Hall.
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