The first cruise vessel in 2019 enters Busan Port

Busan Port Authority(BPA, President Nam Ki-chan) stated that the first cruise vessel in 2019 entered Busan Port on January 2nd.
 
2,900 passengers including 750 Austrailian, 750 American, and 400 British boarded the Sapphire Princess(115 thousand ton) and the ship is scheduled to stay in Busan for nine hours and leave for Nagasaki Port in Japan.
 
143 voyages of cruise vessels and 200 thousand passengers are expected to enter Busan Port this year; Japan 43voyages, worldwide 43 voyages, China 27 voyages, Taiwan 8 voyages, and home(inter)port 22 voyages.
 
Since the THAAD missile crisis, Busan Port has put tremendous efforts to meet the demands for the rapidly changing cruise market and introduced various cruise packages departing Busan Port.
 
In particular, the port introduced the bar code immigration service for passenger’s convenience and security for the first time in Korea.
 
BPA President Nam said “Busan Port has become the largest cruise port in the nation accommodating 70 percent of the cruise tourists. We will contribute to the local economuc development through vitalizing the cruise related industry, engaging in the marketing activities in the Northeast Asian countries, and attracting cruise homeports.”