From August 22 to 24, Busan City conducted one-on-one in-depth interviews with 34 foreign tourists at major attractions, including Haeundae Beach, Gamcheon Culture Village, and Yongdusan Park. Participants spoke positively about Busan’s natural environment, local food, urban atmosphere, and the friendliness of its residents.
Key Changes
The survey was conducted to identify, by nationality, the inconveniences foreign visitors actually experience in Busan and to find ways to improve the city’s tourism readiness.
Busan City said it plans to share the interview findings with relevant departments and autonomous districts and counties, starting with issues that can be improved immediately on site.
Current Status
The inconveniences identified in the interviews varied according to visitors’ language groups and patterns of use.
- Chinese-speaking tourists pointed to difficulties with payments, delivery services, restaurant reservations, public bicycle verification, and taxi displays that rely primarily on Korean.
- Japanese tourists identified odors and cleanliness in public toilets at major attractions, cigarette butts around restaurants, sewer odors in the Seomyeon area, and the inability to pay by card at some traditional markets as areas for improvement.
- English-speaking tourists from Europe and North America said it was difficult to find Busan tourism information on Google Maps and Naver Map. They also cited the shortage of public trash bins, verification procedures requiring a Korean phone number, cash-only payments when topping up T-money cards, and low awareness of the Visit Busan Pass.
However, these findings come from in-depth interviews with 34 people. They should not be interpreted as a quantitative opinion poll representing the shared experiences of all foreign tourists in Busan or the condition of facilities across the city.
Impact
The number of foreign tourists visiting Busan reached 2,420,629 in the first half of 2026, up 43.9% from the same period a year earlier. Foreign credit card spending during the same period rose 63.0% to 591.4 billion won. In 2025, the annual number of foreign tourists visiting Busan was 3,643,439.
As tourist numbers and spending increased, the interviews identified specific areas for improvement involving convenience facilities and access to information. However, no causal relationship has been established between the increase in tourists and the inconveniences reported on site.
Next Checkpoint
Busan City said that, if the third supplementary budget passes the city council’s deliberation, it plans to prioritize support for autonomous districts and counties for short-term projects such as installing trash bins at tourist attractions. The actual completion of improvement projects, including trash-bin installation, should therefore be confirmed through subsequent official announcements.
The city plans to develop long-term projects through cooperation among departments and make in-depth interviews with foreign tourists a regular program beginning in 2027.
Source Verification
- [Official Busan Metropolitan City press release: Busan City to Hear Firsthand Feedback from Foreign Tourists and Improve Tourist Satisfaction](https://www.busan.go.kr/nbtnewsBU/1752268) — checked September 2, 2026
- [Seoul Economic Daily: Busan City Seeks to Reform Its Tourism Fundamentals Through Close, On-the-Ground Engagement with Foreign Visitors](https://v.daum.net/v/20260902075328769) — checked September 2, 2026
- [Official Busan Metropolitan City press release: Foreign Visitors to Busan Surpass 2.42 Million in the First Half of 2026](https://www.busan.go.kr/nbtnewsBU/1745118) — checked September 2, 2026
- [Busan Ilbo: Global Tourism City Busan Captivates Chinese-Speaking Visitors from Taiwan and Hong Kong](https://www.busan.com/view/busan/view.php?code=2026021918250044376) — checked September 2, 2026