Seoul MICE Week strengthens city’s industry network

Ensuring business events leave a lasting legacy is as important as a physical platform for attendees to network.

This was the main takeaway from the Seoul MICE Forum last Thursday, which concluded the 2018 Seoul MICE Week running from Nov 19 to 21. ICC Sydney CEO Geoff Donaghy, who made the statement, pointed out the significance of convention centres connecting with the local community, including businesses, universities and start-ups.

For the third year running, Seoul has ranked third for international meetings cities in the Union of International Associations' (UIA) International Meetings Statistics Report. This year's conference, under the slogan "Designing the future of MICE" explored how Seoul's MICE industry will transform to become an even stronger MICE destination, especially with the expansion of the MICE cluster into the Jamsil district expected to take place by 2025.

In addition to Thursday's forum, Seoul MICE Week also featured numerous other public and professional events, such as briefing sessions on available support for domestic associations and academic societies, and the annual meeting for members of the Seoul MICE Alliance. The organisation has grown from 47 members during its inception in 2010 to 299 members today.

Reinforcing Donaghy's message about bridging the MICE industry and the community, the Seoul MICE Week also organised a MICE Future Talent Bank Day for high school and university students. They competed in a quiz on the MICE industry and attended talks by Na Seung-yeon and Kim Eun-joo, who played instrumental roles in the bidding and hosting of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.

Joo Yong-tae, director-general of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Tourism and Sports Bureau, said, "Seoul MICE Week is a great opportunity for experts from related industries to gather together, share information, and strengthen the local MICE network. We will continue to support Seoul in its efforts to become the world's best MICE city."