Last Year, Busan Cruise Tourists Increased by 36% ... First Time Since THAAD Retaliation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Jonghyo] The number of cruise ship arrivals at Busan Port showed its first recovery last year after three years since the 2016 THAAD retaliation measures. However, due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) this year, cruise ship arrivals at Busan Port are currently completely suspended.

According to the '2019 Busan Cruise Administrative Statistics' announced by Busan Port Authority on the 27th, the number of cruise ship arrivals at Busan Port in 2019 was 108 times, and the number of tourists increased by 36.4% compared to the previous year to 189,000. Including 82,000 cruise crew members, the total number of passengers increased to 271,000.

Previously, in 2018, cruise ship arrivals were 108 trips, and the number of tourists was 173,165, while in 2017, there were 82 trips and a total of 138,865 tourists visited.

By country, tourists increased from all regions including Asia, the United States, and Europe, with notable increases among tourists from Japan, the United States, and Australia.

The cruise ship supplies loaded at Busan Port, including domestic products such as food, increased by 23.1% compared to 2018 to 29.5 billion KRW, and overseas supplies also increased by 75.3% to 26.02 million USD, approximately 31.2 billion KRW.

So far, Busan Port Authority has been making efforts to recover the Busan Port cruise industry and revitalize the local economy by reducing port facility usage fees by 30% for the cruise industry seeking market diversification to Japan, Taiwan, etc., instead of China, and by opening a 'Cruise Pop-up Market' within the terminal.

Nam Ki-chan, President of Busan Port Authority, said, "Recently, the domestic and international cruise industry is facing great difficulties as cruise ship arrivals at Busan Port have been suspended due to the COVID-19 situation. Since cruises are a strategic industry of Busan Port that create high added value in various fields such as tourism, ship supplies, and shipping, we will do our best to ensure that related industries can recover quickly."

Meanwhile, the Busan Cruise Administrative Statistics are prepared and announced twice a year by Busan Port Authority in cooperation with the Southeast Regional Statistics Office and Busan Metropolitan City to reflect the characteristics of Busan and to promote cruise tourist status surveys and market-tailored policies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.