Busan Tourism in the Global Spotlight, Full-Scale Marketing Efforts to Attract Chinese Tourists

Four Provincial-Level Broadcasters in China Produce Special Program on ‘Busan Tourism’

Major Online Travel Agencies ‘Ctrip’ and ‘Qunar’ Collaborate on Promotion

Busan-Themed Street Set Up at Shanghai ‘Waitan Fengjing’ from 16 to 23

Busan City is conducting comprehensive promotional marketing to attract Chinese tourists in response to the full-scale reopening of the Chinese tourism market, in collaboration with the Busan Tourism Organization (President Lee Jeong-sil).

Busan Tourism Talk Show.

Currently, direct flight routes connecting Busan and China have recovered to over 60% of pre-COVID levels, but the number of Chinese tourists visiting Busan has slowly recovered to about 20% of pre-COVID levels as of April this year.

Accordingly, the city and the organization are actively promoting Busan tourism sales marketing using Chinese online media and local marketing to publicize "Busan, the World's Best Travel Destination of the Year."

First, four provincial-level Chinese TV broadcasters will produce a "Busan Tourism Special Program" to be aired in July. As part of efforts to attract Chinese tourists, the program will showcase Busan's changed status after COVID-19, new tourist attractions, and various promotions, aiming to captivate 300 million Chinese viewers in July.

The four provincial-level Chinese TV broadcasters are Zhejiang TV, Hubei TV, Jiangsu TV, and Shandong TV.

To this end, a special coverage team visited Busan City Hall on the 16th and conducted an interview with Mayor Park Hyung-jun. During the interview, Mayor Park introduced the charm of Busan as an international tourism city, recommended tourist spots, and new tourism planning projects. The coverage team then visited and experienced tourist sites for three days, vividly capturing on camera various attractions, activities such as yacht tours and cable cars, and unique local foods throughout Busan.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun of Busan Interview with Chinese TV Broadcaster.

The second activity to attract tourists involves joint promotions with China’s largest online travel agency, Ctrip (OTA), including ▲Busan special live commerce sales ▲planning and promotion of a Busan special exhibition linked to a grand sale ▲opening of a flagship store for experience sales (operating until May next year).

The "Ctrip Busan Tourism Live Commerce" broadcast on May 17 recorded a simultaneous visitor connection rate of 9.6 million, and since the live broadcast, over 10,000 Busan tourism products have been sold, with sales expected to continue increasing through July.

Additionally, joint promotions with another major Chinese online travel agency, Qunar, are ongoing until June 21. These promotions introduce various aspects of Busan, including hotel accommodation discount coupons commemorating the reopening of Busan tourism and new tourist attractions established during the COVID period.

The city also launched local marketing in China to strengthen the Busan tourism brand awareness. From June 17 to 18, a Busan-themed street was created in Shanghai’s "Waitan Fengjing" area, featuring ▲outdoor Busan tourism wrapping (photo zones, etc.) ▲a Busan pop-up store ▲and a Visit Busan Pass consumer event. A tourism briefing session was also held for local tourism industry and media, receiving great response from local citizens.

Furthermore, from June 16 to 23, a special menu reflecting Busan’s charm was developed and sold at a local caf? in Guangzhou, which receives about 600 visitors daily. Busan tourism photo zone sculptures were also installed to allow caf? visitors to fully experience the taste and style of Busan.

A city official stated, “Although group tours from China have not yet resumed, the air routes are opening rapidly,” adding, “Our city will carry out comprehensive promotional marketing to attract Chinese tourists, who accounted for the largest share of Busan tourism before COVID-19, to revitalize the stagnant tourism industry.”

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