BTS Busan Concert Confirmed for June... Hotel Prices Skyrocket, 'Reservation War'

With BTS's first full world tour in 4 years including Busan, the local accommodation industry is buzzing.

According to entertainment industry sources including their agency Big Hit Music, BTS will kick off their first performance on April 9, touring a total of 79 shows across 34 cities in North America, Europe, South America, and Asia.

⬦ Debut Day on June 13, Hometown of Jimin and Jungkook... 'Pilgrimage' Anticipated

Busan is the only city outside the capital region confirmed for performances on June 12 and 13.

In particular, June 13 is BTS's debut day and the concert will be held in the hometown of members Jimin and Jungkook, raising fans' expectations. The specific concert venue has not yet been announced.

As soon as the news of the Busan concert broke, online reservations for local hotels quickly sold out.

Although only a portion of available rooms were listed online, it is currently difficult to find any rooms available for reservation.

On the 15th, checking about ten luxury and 3-4 star hotels in Haeundae, Busanjin-gu, and Yeongdo-gu revealed that most were fully booked.

A representative from a luxury hotel stated, "The online reservation slots sold out in just 4-5 hours. I knew that ARMY's culture of verification leads to quick bookings, but experiencing it firsthand is astonishing."

⬦ 290,000 Won to 780,000 Won... Revived 'Overcharging Nightmare'

As the competition for reservations intensifies, concerns about excessive accommodation pricing are also being raised.

According to an online travel platform, the accommodation price for a deluxe double room at a luxury hotel in Busan on the day of the concert is set at 785,000 Won, which is about double the price compared to the previous week (298,000 Won) and the following week (390,000 Won).

A well-known 4-star chain hotel in Haeundae also showed that rooms, usually priced around 300,000 Won, are being sold for 670,000 Won on that platform.

A representative from the luxury hotel explained, "The hotel did not raise prices directly, nor could it. It appears that online intermediaries are reselling rooms secured from offline travel agencies or other online travel agencies at higher prices."

⬦ "We cannot repeat the 2022 incident"... Urgent Inspection Needed by Busan City

In fact, during the BTS free concert held to wish for the Busan Expo in 2022, there was also controversy over overcharging.

One accommodation attempted to charge 30 times the usual price and faced severe backlash online, prompting Busan City to operate a lodging fee reporting center and conduct joint inspections to demand corrective measures.

BTS's upcoming concert in Busan is an unparalleled boon for the Busan tourism industry. However, if the mentality of 'one-time business' resurfaces, the image of Busan as a 'global tourist city' could suffer irreparable damage. Proactive on-site inspections and strong corrective measures by Busan City are more urgent than ever.