Busan Port Authority partners with five Japanese cruise ports

Busan Port Authority (BPA) has joined with Busan Metropolitan City and four major cruise ports in Japan to encourage more Japanese tourists to cruise from South Korea.

Working in collaboration with the ports of Fukuoka, Kanazawa, Maizuru and Sakaiminato, the BPA aims to develop a joint marketing campaign targeted at cruise operators and create more itineraries between the ports. The partners will also explore how to strengthen the cooperation between ports and cities in north-east Asia. Japanese travel agencies have also toured Busan port and the city’s major tourist attractions.

Through the initiative, BPA aims to attract passengers from potential markets such as Tokyo, following the launch of Shinkansen railway service, and the west coast area, which provides easy connections to Busan port.

“Busan Port Authority is expecting 234 port of calls and 400,000 cruise passengers in 2016, which will be the highest record ever,” said Park Chung-sik, vice president of BPA. “We will therefore try our best to strengthen the cooperation with regional ports to develop cruise industry in north-east Asia even further.”

All four Japanese ports will feature on Costa Cruises’ Costa Victoria’s itineraries when she becomes the first cruise ship to operate a regular partial turnaround in Busan port next year.