Taiwan tops foreign arrivals to Busan as flights surge

Seoul, Sept. 6 (CNA) Taiwan has become the largest source of foreign visitors to Busan, South Korea, following a sharp increase in direct flights, the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency said Sunday.

A total of 2,927,674 foreign tourists visited Busan from January to July, 605,000 of whom were Taiwanese, Yonhap said.

Citing aviation statistics released Sunday by the Korea Airports Corp, Yonhap reported that 6,609 flights operated between Busan and Taiwan in the first seven months of 2026 -- matching the total for all of 2024 and equivalent to 82.9 percent of the 7,976 flights recorded in all of 2025.

The statistics showed that the increase was driven largely by Taiwanese carriers, including EVA Air and Starlux Airlines, launching new services, with most flights between Busan and Taiwan maintaining load factors above 80 percent.

The Busan-Taoyuan route is currently served by nine airlines: South Korea's Air Busan, Eastar Jet, Jeju Air, Jin Air and Korean Air, and Taiwan's China Airlines, EVA Air, Starlux Airlines and Tigerair Taiwan.

Flights between Busan and Kaohsiung are operated by Air Busan, Jeju Air and South Korea's T'way Air, while Jin Air and Starlux Airlines serve the Busan-Taichung route.