Busan vs Daegu

Busan leads Daegu by 14 points on the CIRA Index, 86 to 72. Busan grades better on 9 measures, Daegu on 0; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Busan 86, Daegu 72
• OECD: Busan 81, Daegu 66
• UN Tourism: Busan 90, Daegu 81
• UNDRR: Busan 76, Daegu 59

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Busan 88, Daegu 50
• Economy and jobs: Busan 92, Daegu 83
• Climate and hazards: Busan 60, Daegu 45
• Water and environment: Busan 94, Daegu 94
• Community and housing: Busan 100, Daegu 100
• Access and continuity: Busan 79, Daegu 71

Where Busan is stronger

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 68.4 % average annual occupancy (RSQUARE Research, 2024 Hotel Market Report, 2023). Between 65 and 75: grade 3/4.
• 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.
• 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.
• Flood hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• 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.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A written destination crisis plan (Seoul Economic Daily, 2026). Grade 2/4.

Where Daegu is stronger

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• South Korea: #12 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• South Korea: #12 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Busan in full · Daegu in full

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