KOREA MICE EXPO 2014 held  in Gyeonggi Province this year to assure balanced development of Korea’s MICE industry  

◇ Distinguished guests attend the opening ceremony of ‘‘KOREA MICE EXPO 2014’. ⓒ Reportr Baek Seong-ji

KOREA MICE EXPO 2014, Korea’s foremost exhibition with a focus on the MICE industry, took place at KINTEX in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, from June 19 to 20.

Marking its 15th year, the KOREA MICE EXPO is an internationally recognized event that had previously taken place in Seoul for four consecutive years. Jointly organized by the Korea Tourism Corporation and the Gyeonggi Tourism Cooperation, the KOREA MICE EXPO will be held at KINTEX in Goyang City of Gyeonggi Province in 2014 and 2015 with the aim of assuring the balanced development of the regional MICE industry.

This year’s exhibition was the biggest event ever in scale, showcasing 468 booths from 244 MICE related organizations. Approximately 320 domestic and global buyers participated in the MICE exhibition and business fair.  

MICE stands for ‘Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions’, and has been referred to as ‘Business Tourism’ because the average MICE participant consumes 3.1 times more and stays 1.4 times longer than a general tourist. As wide-ranging sectors such as accommodations and dining are associated with this industry and considerable added-value is generated, MICE is called a ‘golden goose’ or a ‘chimneyless golden industry’.

Considering invisible effects such as the establishment of infrastructure, enhanced national image, and increased political status, MICE is a new growth power to generate added-value worth billions of dollars. 

◇ Visitors read flyers while listening to an explanation in front of the Korea Tourism Corporation booth, located in A Zone, the public zone. ⓒ Reporter Baek Seung-ji

The exhibition area was divided into five halls in total. A-Zone, the Public Zone, was filled with convention center booths as well as those of public organizations, related groups, associations, municipal governments, and local convention and visitor bureaus. B-Zone, the MICE Venue Zone, featured facility and venue-related booths including hotels, resorts, casinos, museums, cruises, galleries, cultural complexes, thematic spaces, and schools. C-Zone, the MICE Service Provider Zone, showcased a variety of service providers in MICE-related sectors including tourism, airlines, translation service providers, exhibition equipment providers, souvenir producers, human resources, security service providers, protocol service providers, performance distributors, media, transportation firms, and custom clearance service providers. Including overseas convention and visitor bureaus and foreign tourism commissions, international organizations related to MICE were featured in D-Zone, the Overseas Public Zone. MICE planners, event planners, incentive convention planners, PR firms, professional educational institutions, universities and graduate schools were located in E-Zone, the MICE Planning & Education Zone. Finally, F-Zone, the Experience Zone, was designed to provide visitors with an opportunity to experience tourism resources in such segments as medical tourism, oriental medicine, Korean tourist cuisine and Korea Wave contents. The booths highlighted various business areas that make up the MICE industry in a systematic manner. The exhibition provided visitors with an opportunity to understand Korea’s MICE industry at a glance.

In addition to the MICE exhibition and business fair (in which foreign buyers of high potential participated), a variety of side events were held including a promotion seminar for domestic and foreign buyers, the K-MICE Forum, a university student MICE idea competition, and a FAM Tour for foreign MICE professionals. The exhibition provided both domestic and foreign participants with superior business and educational opportunities.

◇ A monk at the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism booth, located in the Experience Zone, introduces Korean temple cuisine to Governor Kim Moon-soo. ⓒ Reporter Baek Seung-Ji

The Experience Zone was the most popular among visitors. Specializing in hair loss, the Lee Mun-won Oriental Medical Clinic had specialized equipment at its booth, enabling visitors to have their hair condition examined and receive a professional consultation. The Cultural Corp of Korean Buddhism distributed Ssambap to visitors, and displayed Korean temple cuisine. The design of the booth reflected the peaceful atmosphere of a temple, so no further explanations regarding temple stay programs seemed necessary.

All the booths in the MICE Venue Zone were busy promoting their services to each visitor. They explained the benefits of a hotel that can simultaneously offer convention and accommodation functions, ensuring the popularity of the booth.

A visitor to the event said, “I am very interested in this exhibition because I am currently taking a special course to foster MICE professionals, and considering a career in this sector in the near future. I learned there are so many companies in the MICE industrial sector, and some cities like Goyang and Seoul have keen interest in MICE”.

The majority of visitors said that they acquired a better understanding of the scale of the MICE industry, which embraces diverse aspects of business tourism including conference venues, services, cities, food, and tour courses

◇Located in the Experience Zone, the Gyeonggi Tourism Cooperation booth displayed DMZ-themed photos under the. ⓒ Reported by Baek Seung-Ji

The exhibition will take place at KINTEX in Goyang City of Gyeonggi Province for the next two years with the aim of assuring the balanced development of the MICE industry. However, behind an impressive title as one of the top three in the world MICE development rankings, Gyeonggi Province has a relatively poor performance index in the MICE industry.

Gyeonggi Province has favorable conditions for the MICE industry with a K-POP concert arena to be built in Hallyu World, the nature repository of the DMZ, and more. However, a variety of military facilities in the northern part of Gyeonggi Province and regulations stemming from such facilities have limited the establishment of relevant infrastructure.

Governor Kim Moon-soo revealed that “Gyeonggi Province has excellent conditions for the development of the MICE industry. The province has numerous merits including superior tourism resources and vitalized DMZ tours. Until now, the MICE industry in Gyeonggi Province has not made significant progress because of numerous regulations and unsatisfactory infrastructure, but we are making consistent efforts to grow.”

There is an old saying: ‘It takes more than pearls to make a necklace.’ No matter how excellent the overall conditions and infrastructure, good harmony and cooperation are required to ensure success. Gyeonggi Province must establish a chimneyless golden factory with a good combination of systematic MICE-supporting programs and regulations.

ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News | Gyeonggi Province University Reporter Group Baek Seung-ji tmdwlfk@naver.com 

http://gnews.gg.go.kr/news/news_detail.asp?number=201406231300284316C056&s_code=C056