Busan closes in on 2 million foreign tourists, ranks 2nd nationwide in visitor spending

About 1,936,572 foreign tourists visited Busan through May this year, a 40% increase from 1,383,758 during the same period last year — nearly double the national average growth rate of 21%.

Busan city announced Monday that foreign tourist arrivals from January through May had already surpassed 1 million in the first quarter in record time, putting the city on track to meet its annual target of 4 million visitors. By nationality, tourists from Taiwan led with 375,322 arrivals, followed by China with 359,981, Japan with 233,685 and the United States with 170,587.

China's growth stands out. While Chinese tourist arrivals fell 1.9% nationwide from the previous month, Busan drew 89,275 Chinese visitors in May alone — up 22.7% from April's 72,748 and a striking 94.0% from the 46,025 recorded in May last year. Chinese arrivals through Busan Port were especially dramatic: 26,556 people entered via the port in May, a 901.4% jump from just 2,652 in the same month a year earlier.

The numbers bear out a survey released last May by Yanolja Research, in which Busan ranked first in satisfaction among major Asian cities among Chinese travelers, topping Tokyo, Singapore and Seoul.

Growth is accelerating beyond the traditional strongholds of China, Taiwan and Japan. American visitors to Busan in May totaled 41,324, up 80.1% from a year earlier, while tourists from major European countries also jumped sharply — 5,654 from France (up 89.2%) and 8,612 from the United Kingdom (up 44.7%).

Foreign tourist spending in Busan has also climbed to second place nationally. According to credit card big data analysis by the Korea Tourism Data Lab, foreign tourist spending reached 132.2 billion won ($85.9 million) in May, more than 2.5 times the 51.2 billion won recorded in January. Total foreign tourist spending from January through May came to 454.4 billion won.