# Agoda and Busan Mark One Year of Partnership as Searches Rise 77%

> Agoda and Busan mark one year of their tourism partnership, with searches up 77% and 40% of bookings from first-time visitors to South Korea.

- Published: 2026-10-26T04:44:03+00:00
- Section: Partnerships
- Author: News Desk
- URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-26/agoda-busan-partnership-first-year
- Source: [TradingView](https://www.tradingview.com/news/prnewswire:8525c1846115a:0-agoda-and-busan-report-growth-in-first-time-and-repeat-visitors-in-first-year-of-partnership/)

## Key takeaways

- Agoda recorded a 77% increase in searches for Busan during the April to August 2026 campaign period.
- 40% of travelers who booked Busan through the campaign were first-time visitors to South Korea, and 28% were repeat visitors discovering Busan for the first time.
- Busan welcomed approximately 3.43 million international visitors through August 2026 and targets 30 million foreign visitors annually by 2029.

Agoda and Busan Metropolitan City marked the first year of their strategic partnership, with searches on the platform rising 77% during the April to August 2026 campaign compared with the 140 days before it. The digital travel platform and the South Korean city announced the milestone on October 26, 2026, according to [TradingView](https://www.tradingview.com/news/prnewswire:8525c1846115a:0-agoda-and-busan-report-growth-in-first-time-and-repeat-visitors-in-first-year-of-partnership/).

## How the Busan Campaign Performed

Agoda insights show that 40% of travelers who booked Busan through the campaign were first-time visitors to South Korea, while another 28% were repeat visitors discovering Busan for the first time. Taiwan, Japan, and China ranked as the top three source markets. The partnership was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in October 2025, positioning [Agoda](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000f27/agoda) as a technology and data partner for the city's inbound tourism goals.

Busan became the first partner on Agoda's Flagship program, a destination-marketing solution that combines the platform's global reach with a city's local tourism assets into an integrated, always-on campaign. Jay Lee, Senior Director, North Asia at Agoda, said, "A year into this partnership, we're seeing more travelers discover Busan, a growing share of them visiting for the first time, and strong momentum behind Busan's own Agoda Flagship Store."

Busan hosts the 2nd Global City Tourism Summit from October 26 to 28, 2026, where Lee is delivering the keynote address on the first day. The summit is jointly hosted by [Busan Metropolitan City](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/002pfnc/busan-metropolitan-city), the Tourism Promotion Organization for Global Cities, and the [Busan Tourism Organization](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00n3hij/busan-tourism-organization), with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and UN Tourism. Busan welcomed approximately 3.43 million international visitors through August 2026 and targets 30 million foreign visitors annually by 2029.

## Agoda's South Korea Partnerships

Agoda integrated hotel booking into the KakaoBank mobile app in May 2026, exposing its inventory to more than 30 million South Korean users with up to 10% destination discounts, according to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data). The same records show Agoda launched a unified multi-product booking engine in May 2026, combining hotels, flights, and more than 300,000 activities into a single checkout across over 6 million properties and 130,000 flight routes.

## Agoda's Recent Expansion and Deals

Agoda made Bangkok its largest office worldwide with more than 4,500 staff, more than half its global workforce, the Laotian Times reported in October 2026. The Bangkok team develops software, AI, and data analytics for a platform listing over 6 million properties. Agoda and Emerging Travel Group announced a strategic partnership to cross-sell accommodation services, with Agoda connecting to ETG's RateHawk API, EIN Presswire reported in October 2026.

## Busan's Visitor Target

Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo said, "Busan's vision is to become Asia's No. 1 Marine and Culture City — a destination defined by its coastline, culture, and openness to the world." The city's strategic priorities center on longer stays, higher visitor spending, and a more sustainable tourism ecosystem.

## Companies in this story

- [Agoda company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000f27/agoda) · website: https://www.agoda.com
- [Busan Metropolitan City company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/002pfnc/busan-metropolitan-city) · website: https://www.busan.go.kr
- [Busan Tourism Organization company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00n3hij/busan-tourism-organization) · website: https://bto.or.kr

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