Conducting a full-scale on-site inspection to prepare for increasing cruise port calls from China

 

- - Meeting with the relevant customs, immigration, and quarantine (CIQ) agencies to prevent delays in cruise embarkation and disembarkation at the Port of Busan on Monday, January 19

 

- - Accelerating the development of practical, field-oriented improvement measures such as operational efficiency and workforce expansion

 

 The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) announced that it held a meeting with the relevant agencies for cruise embarkation and disembarkation at the Busan Port International Terminal at 2PM on Monday, January 9.

 

 The meeting was initiated to prevent embarkation and disembarkation delays during the immigration process caused by the recent surge in demand for cruise ship calls at Busan Port from China and to establish practical, field-based countermeasures.

 

 This year, 173 calls by cruise ships from China are scheduled to arrive at Busan Port; this is an increase of approximately 21 times compared to last year (8 arrivals). In particular, as the annual number of cruise tourists is expected to exceed 800,000, it is necessary to reinforce CIQ processes to accommodate the increased number of tourists.

 

 Accordingly, all relevant agencies including Busan Main Customs, Busan Immigration Office, National Quarantine Station in Busan, and Yeongnam Regional Headquarters of the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency—covering customs, immigration, and quarantine (CIQ)—as well as representatives from the Busan Port Authority (BPA) attended this meeting chaired by Kim Myeong-jin, Director-General of Maritime Policy at MOF.

 

 The discussion focused on field-based cooperation measures including inspecting bottleneck sections within terminals during large cruise ship arrivals, reducing wait times for immigration inspections, optimizing passenger flow, and strengthening information sharing among agencies.

 

 The Ministry plans to identify regulatory easing or procedural simplifications that can be implemented immediately by on-site CIQ agencies, incorporate them actively into policymaking, and commit all efforts to enhancing cruise tourism satisfaction.

 

 “For Busan Port to grow into a Northeast Asian cruise hub, satisfaction at the initial entry stage where tourists first encounter Korea is paramount. We will collaborate closely with the relevant agencies to prevent boarding and disembarkation delays preemptively and do our best to ensure that both our citizens and international tourists can conveniently use Busan Port,” said Kim Seong-beom, Acting Minister of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.