Ahead of the BTS concert in Busan, the hotel industry is enjoying a boom as foreign reservations rise. Not only is the share of foreign guests at major hotels in the Busan area surging, but member-focused resorts are also seeing an influx of individual travelers (FIT).
According to the industry on the 3rd, foreign reservations at major hotels and resorts in Busan surged around the BTS world tour "Arirang" concert on the 12th-13th in Busan. At Martier Osiria, operated by Hanwha Hotel & Resort, foreign room reservations during the concert period (the 11th-13th) accounted for 42%. That is more than 200 times higher than the same period last year (0.2%).
The total number of rooms used by foreigners in June rose about tenfold compared with June last year. Individual foreign travelers increased 7.6 times, and there were 76 inbound group bookings, which did not exist last year. Overall occupancy during the concert period has been close to fully booked for three straight days.
The concert effect is also showing at Hanwha Resort Haeundae, a member-focused resort. From the 11th to 13th, the share of foreign room reservations more than doubled from 1.3% last year to 2.7% this year. In particular, unlike last year when most foreign guests were group tourists, this year reservations were centered on individual travelers.
Signiel Busan and Lotte Hotel Busan, operated by Lotte Hotels & Resorts, also saw the share of foreign guests on the 11th-13th rise by about 40 percentage points (P) year over year. L7 Haeundae by Lotte Hotel likewise saw the foreign share increase by about 15 percentage points.
Paradise Hotel Busan recorded an effective sellout, with the room reservation rate exceeding 90% during the period. Foreign guests account for about 70% of those staying.
Sono Moon Haeundae, operated by Sonotrinity Group, also saw the share of foreign guests rise from 17% last year to 30% this year. Buoyed by foreign reservations, the room reservation rate hit full occupancy, up 12 percentage points from the same period last year.
Kent Hotel Gwangalli by Kensington, operated by E-Land Group, sold out all rooms for the 12th-13th as reservations poured in right after BTS released the Busan concert schedule in April. Reservation rates for the 11th and 14th also came in around 90%.
The share of foreign guests at Kent Hotel jumped from 20% last year to 50% this year. Among foreign guests, 70% were from Asia, including China, Japan, and Taiwan, and the remaining 30% were customers from Europe and the Americas, such as Brazil, the United States, and Italy.
Considering the growing demand for stay-type trips that combine concerts with sightseeing, shopping, and lodging, the hotel industry is rolling out a variety of tailored services. Hanwha Hotel & Resort provides welcome gifts and tourist information, and Paradise Hotel operates themed rooms and photo zones. Lotte Hotels & Resorts prepared a purple-themed room package and shuttle buses to the venue, and Kent Hotel strengthened currency exchange and multilingual information services.