It is likely Busan will see the number of foreign tourists coming through cruise boats rise by a large margin to a record-high level this year. The Busan metropolitan city government said on February 9 that as many as 390,000 cruise tourists will enter the city, beginning with the first one on the 10th carrying 2,800 passengers.
The first ship making the port call this year is the Costa Atlantica, the Italian cruise boat, which is scheduled to enter the Port of Busan at 8 am on February 10. The 85,619-ton luxury boat holds 800 crews in addition to 2,000 passengers. It will arrive in Busan from Shanghai through Jeju. The passengers will disembark on the same day and visit tourist attractions within the city in four groups.
The number of cruise tourists visiting the city has steadily increased from 76,000 in 2011, 160,000 in 2012, 289,000 in 2013, and 348,000 in 2014. In response, the city government plans to offer experience tour programs to cater to the increasing number of tourists arriving on cruise ships. In addition, the city will hold a Busan International Cruise Expo in partnership with the Busan Port Authority and the Korea Tourism Organization in June this year.
Source: The Korea Economic Daily
