BUSAN — Busan will remake Busan Station into a "starting point of hospitality" for international travelers, part of an effort to convert a surge in foreign arrivals into longer stays and higher spending. The city also plans to extend a tourism axis concentrated in eastern Busan toward the western part of the city and to strengthen links with higher-value segments such as medical tourism, wellness and MICE, or meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions.
The city holds a policy roundtable titled "Tourism That Stays, a Happy Busan" on the afternoon of the 7th at the Eurasia Platform in Busan Station, with tourism industry workers and local residents attending. Thirteen participants are expected, including Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo, officials from the dining, lodging, medical, wellness, MICE and cruise sectors, and residents of Gamcheon Culture Village.
The session is designed to shift Busan's steep growth in tourism toward qualitative growth. Foreign visitors to Busan totaled 2.92 million as of July this year, up 46.1% from the same period a year earlier, while visitor spending rose 50.8% to 742.3 billion won. The city said it will focus policy capacity not on raising visitor numbers alone but on building a structure in which travelers stay longer, spend more and return.
Ahead of the roundtable, Jeon will visit the Busan Station tourist information center and the luggage delivery platform Jimcarry to encourage on-site staff and review readiness at the city's gateway. The city plans to develop the Eurasia Platform not as a mere transport hub but as a mixed-use tourism center offering customized travel support, sales of the Visit Busan Pass and K-culture goods, and unstaffed luggage storage.
The guidance system will also change to reflect a wider range of countries of origin among foreign visitors. Digital kiosks will be installed in the Busan Station waiting area, and foreign students and residents living in the region will be trained as specialized supporters to provide multilingual guidance along major travel routes. Complaints collected in the field will be reflected in policies to improve reception for tourists.
The roundtable will present a vision of "Busan, a city of economic vitality tourism where experiences are consumed." Four strategies are on the agenda: promoting balanced stay-based tourism across the eastern and western parts of the city, fostering high-value tourism industries, building reception capacity at a global standard, and creating a sustainable ecosystem of mutual benefit. Participants will review on-site regulations in the lodging and dining sectors and explore ways to expand infrastructure for longer stays.
The city intends to improve living conditions so that rising visitor numbers do not translate into inconvenience for residents, and to build a model in which tourism revenue feeds into local commercial districts and better quality of life for citizens.
"Now, when Busan tourism is showing unprecedented growth, is the best time to change its makeup toward qualitative, stay-based growth," Jeon said. "We will quickly reflect the difficulties and regulations raised in the field in city administration so that the fruits of tourism lead to revitalization of local commercial districts and improved quality of life for citizens."
