Winter Olympics rehearsals, a series of confirmed congresses set to bring at least 45,000 delegates plus corporate incentive tours herald the start of a promising event calendar running to 2024 for South Korea.
The country expects to welcome more visitors this year as the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics approaches with test events running until April. This follows Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) celebrating its 17 million mark of inbound tourists in 2016.
Among Korea MICE Bureau’s new bid wins are the 28th International Congress of Transplantations Society in 2020 in Seoul (5,000 participants), the 37th International Geological Congress in 2024 in Busan (6,000) and the World Biomaterials Congress in Daegu (3,500).
Several incentive groups such as E. Excel International, Mercuries Life Insurance (Taiwan) and Charle (Japan) are scheduled to visit Korea in the first half of the year.
The largest convention expected in Korea this year is the UIA 2017 Seoul World Architects Congress, at Coex, Seoul, in September. About 30,000 participants, 5,000 of which are overseas delegates from 120 countries, are expected to attend.
How Pyeongchang will grab the international spotlight as Winter Games approaches
In 2016, Korea successfully hosted the Rotary International Convention with Kintex as the main venue. The convention brought more than 21,000 international delegates and a post-event survey showed they were impressed with South Korea’s tourism infrastructure, scenery and efficient hosting of the event.
“This is an exciting year for Korea as we release new support schemes, reach out to new markets, open new unique venues and soon launch our very own Korea MICE Ambassador Program,” says Kap Soo Kim, executive director of Korea MICE Bureau.
“We invite the international business events community to look forward to these new developments in Korea,” says Kim.
Chosun Ones – business event confidence returns to South Korea
KTO, through Korea MICE Bureau, will continue to promote Korea as a top business events destination by participating in major trade shows. This starts in February at Aime in Melbourne, where visitors can try a Virtual Reality (VR) ski experience of the much anticipated 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics along with traditional Korean arts and crafts.
Korea MICE Bureau will also attend Imex, IBTM World, ITB Asia and hold road shows in London, New York, Mumbai, Tokyo and Southeast Asian countries.
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