The city of Busan and the Busan Tourism Organization are using "Busan Syndrome" (釜山病), a coined term created voluntarily by tourists, as an official tourism marketing brand to target the repeat-visit market of free independent travelers (FIT) from Chinese-speaking regions. "Busan Syndrome" is a coined term from Chinese-speaking regions referring to the "travel aftereffect" of wanting to return to the city, unable to forget its scenery and emotions even after visiting Busan.
Busan's tourism market is growing rapidly, led by Chinese-speaking regions. Through May this year, 460,683 foreign tourists visited Busan, up 42.9% from the same period last year. Busan's share of foreign tourists nationwide also reached a record high of 22.2%. In particular, Taiwanese tourists numbered 84,502, up 46.3%, while Hong Kong tourists continued a growth trend of 31.5%, driving the recovery of Busan tourism.
To ensure this trend does not end with one-time visits, the Busan Tourism Organization has partnered with KKday, a global online travel platform (OTA), to run a "Busan Syndrome Healing Promotion" for one month starting on the 28th.
The promotion is designed to recommend tourism products by dividing "Busan Syndrome" symptoms into three stages. For the early stage, in which visitors feel like Busan residents, it suggests traditional market experiences and snap photography. For the progressing stage, in which visitors keep browsing social media, it proposes marine tourism such as the beach train, yacht tours, and paddleboarding. For the "terminal" stage, in which visitors cannot help but return to Busan, it offers integrated products combining the Visit Busan Pass, airline tickets, and shopping discount coupons.
Taiwanese tourists will also receive airline ticket discount coupons for Busan routes worth up to 1,000 Taiwan dollars, along with tourism product discount benefits.
Offline marketing will run in parallel. The Busan Tourism Organization will set up a "Busan Syndrome Healing Booth" at the arrivals hall of Gimhae International Airport from the 31st to the 2nd of next month, holding events targeting Taiwanese and Hong Kong tourists. Tourists who download a zero-won coupon online and participate in a survey will receive a "healing kit" containing gua sha tools and coffee and fish cake experience vouchers, in a plan to strengthen the first impression of traveling in Busan.
Going forward, the Busan Tourism Organization plans to continue expanding its strategy of increasing the length of stay and boosting the repeat-visit rate in Asian markets, including Chinese-speaking regions, by promoting regionally unique content such as cuisine, festivals, nighttime tourism, and wellness.
"Through close collaboration with global platforms, we will continue to discover stay-type tourism content, and do our utmost to secure a welcoming reception posture so that Chinese-speaking and global tourists visiting Busan can enjoy their travels without inconvenience," said Lee Jung-sil, president of the Busan Tourism Organization.
