destination reports: seoul: Seoul under the spotlight
Seoul under the spotlight
Exposure at international trade shows, an aggressive marketing campaign and World Design Capital status come together to put Seoul front of house for 2010
The Korean capital is hot news for the meeting industry in 2010 not only as the inaugural focus for the country’s Visit Korea 2010-2012 campaign, but through its official designation as World Design Capital, and a calendar of high profile meetings and conventions, which wraps up with the fifth G20 Summit in November.
In addition to recognition as a leading meeting destination, Seoul is consistently making the top ten on global hotspot lists from its number three ranking in the New York Times top 31 destinations for 2010, as well as the number five position in the British magazine Wallpaper’s round-up of best cities, for design and architecture.
Seoul’s two-year old convention bureau - part of the Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) - is a joint public/private venture launched in February 2008, and the government-backed entity has high expectations for inbound business. “As both the Korean National Government and the Seoul City Government have identified the meeting and convention sector as an industry to drive the future economy there will be heavy emphasis placed on it during the course of the [Visit Korea] campaign,” says Maureen O’Crowley, senior director for international marketing and conventions, STO.
“The local meeting industry would not be drawing so many high-profile events as it does today without the many successful efforts of the tourism industry to draw citizens in from around the world. The two go hand-in-hand, raising Korea’s profile as the place to go for leisure and business,” she adds.
According to STO, Seoul has high hopes for Visit Korea year with the metropolitan government hoping to draw 12 million tourists this year – 300,000 of them for conventions and exhibitions.
In addition to global exposure STO is hoping that the city's designation as World Design Capital 2010 will drive new meeting and convention enquiries, as O’Crowley explains: “We expect those types of enquires to follow as we progress into the year.”
To support this, as part of a joint initiative with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Seoul Convention Bureau (SCB) has increased financial support of all individuals/groups hosting meetings and conventions with a minimum of 50 participants from KRW60 million (US$51,500) to KRW100 million (US$86,000).
The SCB also provides a wide range of services for all corporate meeting needs including a Welcome to Seoul kit, airport advertising, airport welcome events, entertainment and volunteer services.
The biggest event of the year, the G20 Summit is the most important international event ever to be held in Korea. As the only city on the peninsula with the necessary security and transport infrastructure, as well as abundant accommodation facilities and the largest convention centres, Seoul was the obvious choice.
The city will also play host to the Korea MICE Expo for the coming three years. Normally held in a different city each year, the three-year agreement underscores the strength of Seoul’s proposal, which contended that Seoul would be the international focal point for meeting-related activities and in turn help foster the development of meeting cities across the peninsula, as well as mooting the idea of a Seoul Green MICE Forum.
Comments O’Crowley: “The Korea MICE Expo is all about looking forward, consolidating what we’ve accomplished and discussing ways to build on it. Expo 2010 is expected to draw in approximately 2,000 industry officials, while over 100 international buyers have been invited in order to boost the industry’s ultimate goal of turning it into a major brand product for both Seoul and Korea.”
Following Seoul’s city-wide aim of becoming an environmentally-friendly destination for business and leisure travellers, and a sustainable tourism hub, the Han River Renaissance Project aims to restore the natural world to Seoul’s existing waterways and is underpinning the green tourism mandate. “[This is] very much at the forefront of our aims. During last year’s Korea MICE Expo, when Seoul was laying down its proposal to host the next one, [we] put forth the idea of the Seoul Green MICE Forum. Certainly, applying this aim to facilities already in existence is part of that,” says O’Crowley. And the city has already announced a series of new green initiatives to be put in place during the G20 Summit including electric buses, electric cars and the construction of a number of environmentally-sustainable convention halls.
“Green positioning is by no means merely a slogan in Seoul. Every sector of the economy is working to transform the city into an environmentally-sustainable habitat. Certainly, it is part of the way we market Seoul as a meeting venue,” she adds.
To support the expanding meeting and convention industry the city is also developing its accommodation options with new properties like Lotte Mapo City offering ‘affordable excellence’, and the luxurious Seoul Banyan Tree Club & Resort – which is scheduled to open in March - set to become the city’s top urban resort destination. A number of existing properties have also recently undergone refurbishment, including the Shilla Hotel Seoul, which upgraded its banquet and convention hall.
Key growth markets for Seoul are primarily Asia-focused; however, the STO is looking to new destinations, according to O’Crowley. “Japan and China have naturally been our two largest markets due to our regional proximity. However, China is a market with tremendous expansion possibilities. Recognising this, the STO recently signed a MoU with Shanghai to continue to strengthen our partnerships with other destinations to develop co-operative tourism projects to promote travel to and between the two countries,” she says.
Through the Visit Korea programme the city also aims to break last year‘s record number of visitors and is targeting North America and the Middle East as new inbound source markets.
The global economic climate is also no deterrent to Seoul’s continued presence at international trade fairs, as O’Crowley explains: “Seoul has not only weathered the global economic storm well, but has performed at record levels owing mostly to the resulting favourable currency exchange rate. Therefore, we are optimistic and go into 2010 with plans to participate in 16 international trade events with ambitious goals to break records once again.”
STO also plans strong presence at regional events such as the Gulf Incentive, Business, Travel & Meetings exhibition (GIBTM) in Abu Dhabi and Dubai’s annual Arabian Travel Market.
“As STO has identified the Middle East as a growth market, these regional shows are very important to us. The STO is a relatively new organisation, founded in February 2008, and as we enter our third year of operation, we have selected GIBTM to showcase Seoul as a convention destination,” she concludes.
