Korea’s growth as a global hub for business events has been increasing steadily over the past five years. It may still be a young destination for business events when compared with some other Asian cities, but it has already made its mark by hosting the G20 summit at the end of 2010 as well as other prestigious events.
Looking ahead, global association meetings heading to Korea in the next few years include next month’s 22nd World Congress of Dermatology with 15,000 delegates, the 20th World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics in 2013 with 10,000 delegates and the 2014 Congress of Mathematicians with 6,000 delegates. All of these are significant global events with international participation making up at least 75 per cent of delegate numbers.
International rankings
The country has also done well in globally recognised rankings of association meetings, including those from the Union of International Associations (UIA) and also the International Congress and Conference Association (ICCA).
“Frankly speaking, Korea is still a debutant in this industry so it is important that the country measures itself internationally using independent data,” says Raymond Kim, secretary general of Greater Busan Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Rankings such as the ICCA and UIA rankings show that Korea is doing very well in terms of business events and this will surely lead to a high level of repeat visitors in coming years.”
Korea was in 15th position in the 2009 ICCA rankings of global destinations (the latest data available). This was one place up from 2008, while Seoul was in equal 11th position in the city rankings. Commendable efforts considering that placed Korea and Seoul among Asia’s leading performers.
“Seoul aims to be a top-five convention city under the UIA and ICCA rankings by 2015,” says Maureen O’Crowley, vice-president of international marketing and conventions at Seoul Tourism Organization. “Ultimately though, the goal is not to attain a certain ranking but to become an even more attractive, welcoming city for business visitors and a leading convention destination of the world.”
Global opinion
A large part of Korea’s success has come from its increased profile, achieved through marketing initiatives, tours to promote itself in leading locations around the world and a high-visibility presence at leading meetings industry trade shows such as Imex.
Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future Research, says that Korea has also been excellent at setting tough goals and then pursuing them vigorously. “Korea has major ambitions to develop as a tourism destination,” he says. “As part of that, it has placed a strong focus on attracting major global business meetings and events.”
Talwar is also part of the Future Convention Cities Initiative (FCCI), of which Seoul is a founding member alongside other global cities including Sydney, London and Abu Dhabi. “Seoul was a founding member of FCCI and has been an energetic and passionate supporter since we started,” says Talwar. “The members were truly blown away by the warm hospitality we were shown upon our recent visit there, and very impressed with the quality of the hotels and restaurants, plus the immense attention to detail.”
Leading points
Some of the obvious attractions include Korea’s strong reputation as a growth economy, which is home to a combination of cultural attractions and traditions, and a high-tech, design-led focus on the future.
But while Korea has done well to this point, Talwar adds a word of caution. “The meetings industry in Asia will evolve rapidly in the next decade,” he says. “Competition will become more intense, capacity and capabilities will increase, technology will have a growing impact and new business models will emerge over time. Korea, and Seoul in particular, seem well positioned to keep pace with these changes and, in many cases, will actually lead the way with new thinking and new strategies.”