History and culture at Gyeongbokgung Palace attracts incentive travel groups from India. Photo Credit: AdobeStock/panyaphotograph
Seoul will welcome 1,400 Herbalife incentive participants from India in September, marking one of the largest Indian incentive groups to visit the city since HDFC Bank’s 3,257-delegate programme in 2023.
The group will travel in three waves between 6 and 11 September, with each programme running for four days and three nights across Seoul and Gangwon. In Seoul, participants will stay at four five-star Seoul MICE Alliance hotels and visit Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village and Myeongdong.
The confirmed programme follows sustained destination-development work by the Korea Tourism Organization’s (KTO) New Delhi office, which had engaged Herbalife since 2024. The campaign included a MICE presentation in Bengaluru and site inspections in June and July. Georgia had been the leading alternative before South Korea was selected.
The programme forms part of a wider rise in Indian incentive demand. A 465-delegate group from paint manufacturer Birla Opus will visit Seoul and Gyeonggi from 1 to 7 September, taking Indian incentive arrivals to South Korea that month to around 2,000.
By the end of the third quarter, KTO expects the Indian incentive groups it has attracted or supported to total 4,075 participants, up 279% year on year. The organisation projects the 2026 total will exceed 10,000. It estimates average spending by incentive visitors at US$2,710, compared with US$1,801 for general visitors.
Seoul’s applications and approvals for corporate meeting and incentive support rose 36.3% year on year by the end of July. Events using at least three paid Seoul MICE Alliance members increased 82.4% over the same period.