Five 'Star Companies of the Year' Selected to Lead Busan as an International Tourism City

Tourism Business Collaboration Week 'B Together Week' (21-23) Linkage

Busan City and the Busan Tourism Organization, with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, have selected five companies as the ‘2023 Busan Tourism Star Companies’ that will lead the Busan tourism industry. On the 22nd at 4:30 PM, certificates and plaques will be awarded at the Busan Tourism Enterprise Support Center.

Busan City Hall.

The city has been promoting the ‘Busan Tourism Star Company Development Project’ since 2021 to respond to the rapidly changing market environment, including the surge in tourism demand based on digital technology and the blurring of boundaries between industries, and to foster companies that lead the virtuous cycle of the tourism ecosystem.

From 2021 to 2025, the project aims to discover and support five companies annually, totaling 25 companies, with the goal of producing ‘World-Class Star Companies’ that will become the pinnacle of the tourism ecosystem in the future.

After a three-week public recruitment period in May, a first document screening, and a second presentation screening conducted by external experts as judges, the city and the organization finally selected five companies as the ‘2023 Busan Tourism Star Companies’: Ground K, Yacht Holic, Momos Coffee, Manmanhan Nyeoseokdeul, and Busan Travel Special Forces.

‘Ground K’ is a tourism transportation platform company that provides customized mobility services using information and communication technology (ICT). It was selected as a ‘Regional Win-Win Startup’ by the Busan Tourism Enterprise Support Center (hereafter the Center) in 2020 and has expanded its business in Busan. This year, it relocated its headquarters to Busan to discover new growth engines and is expected to actively expand its business.

‘Yacht Holic’ is a yacht service specialist company offering various yacht-related services. It plans and develops tourism service products through a yacht sharing service platform and contributes to the development of Busan’s marine tourism industry, including popularizing yacht culture.

‘Momos Coffee’ is Busan’s representative specialty coffee brand that produced a World Barista Champion. It offers a space where visitors can experience Coffee Busan and especially promotes Busan’s charm as the representative company of ‘Coffee City Busan’ to tourists for whom cafe tours have become a travel purpose.

‘Manmanhan Nyeoseokdeul’ leads zero waste at event venues through sustainable event planning and eco-friendly equipment development. Since 2020, it has grown by collaborating with Busan companies for three years at the Center. It develops and rents reusable modular boxes, chalkboard-type signboards replacing banners, and event items made from eco-friendly materials, and is expected to lead Green MICE Busan.

Lastly, ‘Busan Travel Special Forces’ is a representative local company specializing in Busan’s history, education, experience, and urban regeneration travel. Through storytelling and expert guided tours centered on the old downtown, it helps understand Busan and presents a new paradigm. It is expected to grow as a leading local travel company by establishing a Busan-type online travel agency (OTA) platform.

Busan Tourism Star Companies receive various support for five years after certification. They are awarded a star company certificate and plaque under the name of the Busan Mayor. In the first year, they receive 10 million KRW in commercialization support funds, and in the second year, a customized scale-up package worth 10 million KRW is provided. Additionally, systematic development programs such as one-on-one customized consulting, investment attraction support, membership programs, and networking are offered.

The five companies selected this year will receive their certificates at the opening ceremony of the ‘B Together Week X 1st Korea Tourism Startup Festival’ held on the 22nd during the nationwide tourism business collaboration week ‘B Together Week 2023.’

By awarding certificates in the presence of tourism startups and industry stakeholders nationwide, the event aims to widely promote Busan Tourism Star Companies and foster collaboration among tourism companies across the country.

The city has selected and nurtured a total of 15 companies as Busan Tourism Star Companies from those chosen in 2021 through this year.

‘Mr. Mansion,’ selected as a Busan Tourism Star Company in 2021, was chosen as the operator for the Korea Tourism Organization’s demonstration project for revitalizing tourism in depopulated areas and the Busan workation project. ‘Yacht Tale,’ also selected in the same year, has contributed to the rebirth of new tourism content in Busan through regional tourism projects such as the Ieul Project, which involves cooperation among industry, academia, research, and government.

‘Jim Carry,’ selected in 2022, is expanding its business as the operator of the KTX express delivery service and was selected for the ‘First Penguin’ guarantee system for promising startups by the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, growing into a future unicorn company. ‘With Us Contents’ operates ‘Popomon,’ Korea’s first travel influencer matching platform, and leads cooperation with tourism companies by offering free usage tickets to Center resident companies.

A city official stated, “Busan Tourism Star Companies not only lead Busan’s future development but are also expected to grow into world-class representative companies as leading models of regional tourism companies.” He added, “We will actively support Busan Tourism Star Companies so that they can play a significant role in attracting the 2030 Busan World Expo.”

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