A view of the city Busan.
BUSAN (The Korea Herald/ANN): The announcement of BTS’ first world tour in four years has led to a spate of hotel cancellations in Busan, triggering scrutiny of pricing behaviour in a city eager to boost its tourism credentials.
Busan has been confirmed as a major stop on the global tour. Within hours of the schedule’s release on Jan 14, fans in South Korea and overseas reported that hotels had unilaterally cancelled their confirmed bookings.
Several said the same rooms later reappeared on reservation platforms at sharply higher prices.
The controversy has drawn responses from both the city of Busan and President Lee Jae Myung, as concerns grow that repeated pricing abuses during large-scale events could undermine the city’s efforts to position itself as a global tourism hub.
A BTS fan from the Philippines wrote on social media platform X that two of her confirmed reservations were cancelled after the announcement on Jan 14, despite having been booked through a global travel platform.
One reservation was for a hotel near Busan station, with check-in scheduled for June 11 to coincide with BTS concerts on June 12 and 13.
“I booked a room for 456,000 won (S$400) for four nights, but the hotel is urging me to cancel my confirmed reservation,” the fan wrote. “I checked again today, and the exact same room is still available but now listed at more than 3 million won.”
Other fans reported similar experiences, saying they were asked either to cancel their bookings voluntarily or pay substantially higher rates to keep them.
In some neighbourhoods, accommodation prices for the concert dates have reportedly surged to more than 10 times the levels seen in surrounding weeks.
Some hotels cited a lack of vacancies as the reason for the cancellations. However, screenshots shared online showed identical rooms listed for the same dates at prices several times higher than the original rates.
The upcoming tour is drawing heightened attention, as it marks BTS’ first full-group activity since the seven bandmates completed their mandatory military service.
Scheduled to coincide with the group’s anniversary, the Busan concerts are expected to attract some of the largest crowds among the 65 stops in the global tour.
As complaints spread, Mr Lee issued a sharp rebuke on Jan 16, criticising what he called predatory behaviour in the accommodation market.
“Such malicious practices collapse the market system and cause serious harm to all,” he wrote on X. “Those responsible should pay far more than the unjust profits they gain.”
The Busan city government said on Jan 17 it would step up monitoring of accommodation providers in cooperation with the Korea Tourism Organisation, with district offices accepting reports of unfair pricing and forced cancellations.
Hotels found to be charging rates different from those posted or violating reservation terms may see the violations reflected in their official ratings, the city said.
Still, questions remain over how effective the measures will be, with the concerts less than five months away.
Local officials acknowledge that hotel pricing is difficult to regulate under current rules, as room rates are considered a matter of private business discretion and there is no legal standard defining excessive pricing.
While accommodations can be penalised for charging more than the prices posted on hotel websites or at the front desk, high prices themselves are not illegal, officials noted.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission provides only non-binding guidelines on compensation for cancellations made within 10 days of the reservation date.
“We do not have regulations that directly address excessive accommodation pricing,” a Busan official told The Korea Herald. “If a hotel charges more than what it posted, that is actionable, but high prices alone are not.”
As Busan aims to attract five million overseas visitors annually by 2028, critics warn that recurring price hikes and forced cancellations during major events could damage the city’s global reputation. Calls are growing for stronger regulatory measures to curb abnormal pricing practices.
“To address these recurring issues, regulations are needed to block abnormal pricing,” said an official from the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice in Busan.
“If that proves difficult initially, stronger self-regulation is essential for the sustainable growth of the local tourism industry.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
