INTERNATIONAL organisers bringing delegates to Seoul will be able to hold their events at special “infection-free zones” under a new support option from the South Korean capital’s convention bureau.
The PLUS SEOUL Infection-free Zone and Reassuring Package is aimed at enabling face-to-face meetings under stricter health precautions that have emerged in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Conferences and exhibitions can be held in a designated Infection-free Zone that will be sanitised for the duration of the event in Seoul.
“The Reassuring Package provides comfort and care services from the arrival of the participants till departure, starting with international conference participants first,” said a spokesman for Seoul Convention Bureau.
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The package includes assistance services for translation and interpretation, emergency medical situations, reservations and more. Most of these services will be offered over the phone but in person when necessary.
The event support comes as South Korea steps up measures to control outbreaks with foreign residents required to provide a medical certificate to prove they do not have Covid-19 symptoms. Self-isolating for 24 hours is still required on re-entering the country.
Seoul, with a population of about 10 million people, entered a new phase of countermeasures against Covid known as “Distancing in Everyday Life” with people required to keep a metre apart from each other.
In addition to hygiene measures such as wearing surgical masks and hand-washing, drive-through and walk-in screening procedures are operating.
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Residents are expected to continuously follow guidelines of personal hygiene routines such as washing hands, wearing facial masks, and keeping a minimum of one metre apart from others.
Drive-through screening centres to test for the coronavirus are operating as well as walk-through facilities.
Seoul Convention Bureau (SCB) also brought in safety measures to its support program, PLUS SEOUL for MICE participants. Meetings will be resumed in post-Covid sooner or later and mutual agreement is leading to the birth of “New Norm.”
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Organisers of BIO KOREA 2020 recently made their event into fully virtual with an e-Conference, 360° VR for the venue, 3D scanning of products at the virtual exhibitions and 3D animated videos among other innovations.
Seoul Convention Bureau said it expected digital to enable “endless combinations” through advanced technology and the creativity of event organisers and planners.
The bureau also wants to become a “steppingstone for the Seoul MICE Alliance to embrace more digital solutions” in a similar way to how South Korea advanced innovation in its responses to the Covid crisis.
The bureau said it would double its efforts into enhancing digital innovation in the MICE industry while securing safety measures on the ground.
Picture courtesy Seoul Metropolitan Government
