Tourism City, Busan boasts its charms at 2019 BCTPS - Busan, Striving to Attract Southeast Asian Tourists

On March 25th, Busan hosted the 2019 Busan Tourism Network Conference in Kuala Lumpur in order to expand the tourism market.

Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor OH Keo-don) and the Busan Tourism Organization co-hosted the 2019 Busan Tourism Network Conference in the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, the Southeast Asian emerging market, on March 25th, 2019.

Malaysia is a cofounder of ASEAN and a leading country in the development of Southeast Asia. In order to attract more Malaysians to Busan, the City of Busan and BTO have rigorously carried out tourism fairs and MICE road shows in Malaysia. They have also participated in diverse tourism exhibitions and invited tourism experts to Busan. Since the Korean Wave is very popular in Malaysia, the total number of passengers to Busan from Malaysia has increased from 57,820 in 2017 to 69,065 in 2018, up 19.4%.

Local travel agencies, media outlets and journalists joined and had an opportunity take a glimpse at Busan’s diverse tourism resources. Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Tourismand Culture Ministry and major figures from government and business also partook and committed to active bilateral cooperation and the further expansion of relations.

The seminar kicked off with a promotional video showcasing Busan’s beautifulnatural environments, delicious cuisine as well as diverse activities, while a presentation introducing the shooting locations of famous Korean dramas and thecity’s all-year-round festivals followed. At the B2B section, 180 outbound travel agencies participated and discussed substantive cooperative projects. The Busan Metropolitan Dance Company prepared a special performance to promote Busan’sKorean Wave, which drew plenty of applause.

Mayor OH Keo-don and the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Nor Hisham A Dahlan had a meeting and discussed substantive cooperative measures within the tourism, MICE and smart city sectors. Mayor OH also met Mr. Benyamin Ismail, CEO of Air Asia X、 and proposed developing tourism products and supportive incentives for in and outbound travel agencies.

Special prizes were also awarded to 5 outbound travel agencies in Malaysia to commend their devotion in attracting tourists to Busan. He emphasized their role in boosting exchanges and encouraged them to continue to actively engage in promoting tourism.

In an interview, an official from Busan said, “Last year, we had 440,000 tourists from 6 Southeast Asian countries, the number is second only to Japan. Every week, 26 flights connect Busan and the 2 major states of Malaysia. The Korean Wave is booming in Malaysia, so I hope this makesMalaysians visit Busan more.”

Busan Metropolitan City plans to develop tailored tourism products for Southeast Asiantourists by fully utilizing Busan’s excellent tourism contents: the Korean Wave, beauty,healing and festivals. Busan will also strive to expand Halal restaurants and prayer rooms, so that Southeast Asian tourists can feel comfortable and enjoy Busan to its fullest.