As BTS's Busan concert approaches, the city's hotel industry is enjoying a windfall from an influx of overseas fans.
According to Yonhap News on the 3rd, foreign reservations at major hotels and resorts in Busan surged around the 12th and 13th, when the BTS World Tour "Arirang" Busan concert will take place.
At Matie Osiria, operated by Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, the share of foreign room reservations during the concert period (the 11th to 13th) reached 42.0%. This represents an increase of more than 200 times compared with 0.2% during the same period last year. Throughout the concert period, the overall occupancy rate was close to full for three consecutive days.
Total foreign room usage at Matie Osiria in June also rose about 10-fold compared with the same month last year. In particular, foreign individual travelers (FIT) increased 7.6-fold, driving the overall growth, and 76 new inbound group reservations occurred, which did not exist last year.
The BTS concert effect is also being felt at Hanwha Resort Haeundae, a membership-based resort. The share of foreign room reservations for the 11th to 13th doubled from 1.3% last year to 2.7% this year. The increase in foreign reservations is considered unusual in a structure where most rooms are used by domestic members.
This trend is appearing across hotels throughout Busan. At Signiel Busan and Lotte Hotel Busan, operated by Lotte Hotels & Resorts, the share of foreign guests for the 11th to 13th increased by about 40 percentage points each compared with the same period last year. Paradise Hotel Busan recorded a room reservation rate exceeding 90% during the period, effectively reaching full occupancy. Among guests during this period, foreigners accounted for about 70%.
Kent Hotel Gwangalli by Kensington, operated by E-Land Park, sold out for the concert days (the 12th and 13th) as reservations poured in just one day after BTS released the detailed schedule for the Busan concert in April. Reservation rates for the 11th and 14th were also around 90%. The share of foreign guests jumped from 20% last year to 50% this year. Among foreign guests, 70% were from Asia, including China, Japan, and Taiwan, while the remaining 30% were from Europe and the Americas, including Brazil, the United States, and Italy.
The industry is paying attention to the fact that this increase in demand stems from expanded individual travel by overseas fans rather than group tourism. It also expects the BTS concert to bring significant ripple effects across Busan's tourism industry beyond the lodging sector. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, during the BTS concert held in Goyang Ilsan in April, the number of foreigners visiting the area near the concert venue increased 35-fold compared with the same period last year, and card spending rose 38-fold.
