BTS performs at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. [Yonhap]
BTS performs at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. [Yonhap]

Tourism complaints filed in Busan during May alone reached 77 percent of the total recorded for all of last year, as the city prepares for the BTS World Tour: Arirang in Busan next month.

Of the 368 tourism complaints received nationwide last month, 50.3 percent — or 185 cases — came from Busan, according to the Korea Tourism Organization's Korea Tourism Data Lab. That means a single city generated more complaints than the rest of the country combined.

The figure represents 77.4 percent of all complaints filed in Busan throughout last year, which totaled 239 cases.

Monthly figures show complaints fell from 148 in January to 49 in February and 38 in March, before ticking back up to 48 in April and then jumping to 185 in May.

The most common category was general accommodations, which accounted for 133 complaints, mostly involving unilateral reservation cancellations and excessive cancellation fees.

Hotels ranked second with 21 complaints, including unilateral cancellations and poor service or hygiene. Airports and airlines came next with nine complaints over airline operations and inadequate airport facilities, followed by taxis with seven complaints involving refusals to use meters and reckless driving.

Foreign tourists accounted for 83.8 percent of complainants, with domestic visitors making up the remaining 16.2 percent.

The surge follows a wave of controversy that erupted after BTS announced its Busan concert, with some accommodation prices rising more than tenfold. Operators also canceled existing reservations only to relist rooms at sharply higher prices.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization will run the "K-Tourism Market Smile Campaign" at Haeundae Market in Busan for two days starting Friday.

Kang Dong-jin, the ministry's tourism policy director, said the government would "support traditional markets, including Haeundae Market, in becoming landmark tourist destinations representing the region, based on the voluntary participation and commitment of merchants."


klee@heraldcorp.com