Busan vs Incheon
Busan leads Incheon by 15 points on the CIRA Index, 86 to 71. Busan grades better on 7 measures, Incheon on 0; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.
Scores by each organisation's criteria
- CIRA Index: Busan 86, Incheon 71
- OECD: Busan 81, Incheon 69
- UN Tourism: Busan 90, Incheon 78
- UNDRR: Busan 76, Incheon 69
Theme by theme
- Demand and seasonality: Busan 88, Incheon 54
- Economy and jobs: Busan 92, Incheon 88
- Climate and hazards: Busan 60, Incheon 55
- Water and environment: Busan 94, Incheon 81
- Community and housing: Busan 100, Incheon 88
- Access and continuity: Busan 79, Incheon 79
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.
- Flood hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
- 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.
- 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.
Where Incheon 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 · Incheon in full
The CIRA Index ranking · City vs city · How the index works · CIRA Studio · Put your city in the pilot