Busan

Busan, South Korea, scores 86 on the CIRA Index of tourism resilience, #1 of 309 destinations. 26 of 29 measures come from public sources, with 84% confidence. Every grade below states its value, period and source.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: 86
• OECD: 81
• UN Tourism: 90
• UNDRR: 76

Strongest

• Average length of stay: 6 nights per visitor (Busan Metropolitan City (reported by The Korea Times), 2024). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4.
• Unemployment rate: 2.4 % of the labour force (Statistics Korea (Dongnam Regional Statistics Office), Busan Metropolitan City Employment Trends, Q3 2024). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Extreme heat days: 1.2 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.

Weakest

• Dedicated tourism funding: A promotion budget that depends each year on the general budget (Soo House, 2026). Grade 1/4.
• Wildfire and storm hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4.
• Tropical nights: 86.4 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Between 60 and 100: grade 1/4.

Korea, Rep. in the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Development Index

Korea, Rep. is #12 of 110 countries (4.9 of 7) in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026, which scores countries, not cities. Cities in countries with that WEF score average 66 on the CIRA Index; Busan is 20 above that.

Every measure, by theme

Demand and seasonality: 88

• Nights in the three busiest months: 28.2 % of annual nights (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: UN Tourism by United Nations World Tourism Organization), 2024, 2025 moving average). At or below 30: grade 4/4. Source
• Domestic share of nights: 49.4 % of nights by residents of the same country (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Research by World Travel & Tourism Council; Travel & Tourism by World Travel & Tourism Council), 2026). At or above 45: grade 4/4. Source
• Largest foreign market: 18.9 % of international arrivals or nights (Busan Metropolitan City & Busan Tourism Organization (via The Korea Times), 2025). Between 15 and 20: grade 3/4. Source
• Recovery against 2019: 109.3 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (Busan Metropolitan Government / Breeze in Flow, 2024). Between 100 and 110: grade 3/4. Source
• Average length of stay: 6 nights per visitor (Busan Metropolitan City (reported by The Korea Times), 2024). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4. Source
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 68.4 % average annual occupancy (RSQUARE Research, 2024 Hotel Market Report, 2023). Between 65 and 75: grade 3/4. Source

Economy and jobs: 92

• Jobs in tourism industries: 1 % of employment in accommodation and food services (Bank of Korea, Regional Economic Report (citing Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's 2023 Tourism Industry Survey & Statistics Korea), 2023). At or below 8: grade 4/4. Source
• Unemployment rate: 2.4 % of the labour force (Statistics Korea (Dongnam Regional Statistics Office), Busan Metropolitan City Employment Trends, Q3 2024). At or below 5: grade 4/4. Source
• Income per head: 47,252 GDP per capita, USD PPP (Statistics Korea / Regional GDP Accounts, 2024). Between 45,000 and 60,000: grade 3/4. Source
• Economic diversity: not measured yet

Climate and hazards: 60

• Extreme heat days: 1.2 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4. Source
• Tropical nights: 86.4 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Between 60 and 100: grade 1/4. Source
• Flood hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4. Source
• Wildfire and storm hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4. Source
• Country disaster risk: 2 INFORM Risk index, 0–10 (country figure) (INFORM Risk (European Commission JRC), INFORM Risk Mid 2026, 2026). At or below 2: grade 4/4. Source

Water and environment: 94

• Water scarcity: low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 3/4. Source
• Wastewater safely treated: 99.6 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (Ministry of Environment / KOSIS (Korean Statistical Information Service), 2024). At or above 95: grade 4/4. Source
• Municipal waste per resident: 260 kg per resident per year (Fiscal Reform Institute (나라살림연구소), Research on Improvements to Municipal Waste Management Contracting in Busan Metropolitan City (citing Ministry of Environment Waste Generation and Treatment Status), 2023). At or below 350: grade 4/4. Source
• Green space: 70.8 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (country figure) (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) & Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation (LX), 2025 Urban Planning Status Statistics, 2025). At or above 40: grade 4/4. Source

Community and housing: 100

• Tourism intensity: not measured yet
• Cruise pressure: not measured yet
• Rent growth: 2.6 % change in rents over the last 12 months (Korea Real Estate Board cited in real estate market reporting, Jan–Jul 2026). At or below 3: grade 4/4. Source
• Short-let density: 0.3 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (AirDNA Market Report & Statistics Korea (KOSIS) Population and Housing Census, 2024–2026). At or below 0.5: grade 4/4. Source
• Resident support for tourism: not measured yet

Access and continuity: 79

• Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Gadeokdo New Airport Construction Authority & Busan Metropolitan City, 2026). At or above 4: grade 4/4. Source
• Air traffic recovery: not measured yet
• Rail share of intercity access: not measured yet
• Rail traffic recovery: not measured yet
• Largest airline group share: not measured yet
• Air route concentration: not measured yet
• Early warning and emergency plan: An updated, tested plan that names visitors and tourism operators, with warnings in several languages (The Korea Times, 2026). Grade 4/4. Source
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A written destination crisis plan (Seoul Economic Daily, 2026). Grade 2/4. Source
• Government effectiveness: 91 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). At or above 80: grade 4/4. Source
• Travel advisory: 1 stricter of the US and Canadian government advisory for the country, 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel) (country figure) (US State Department and Government of Canada travel advisories, 2026-09-29). At or below 1: grade 4/4. Source
• Dedicated tourism funding: A promotion budget that depends each year on the general budget (Soo House, 2026). Grade 1/4. Source

Compare Busan

• Busan vs Seoul
• Busan vs Daegu
• Busan vs Incheon
• Busan vs Singapore
• Busan vs Tokyo
• Busan vs Fukuoka

The CIRA Index ranking · City vs city · How the index works · CIRA Studio · Put your city in the pilot