[Editorial] Boosting MICE sector

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has taken the right course by selecting the tourism and convention industries as the two major future growth engines for the city. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon last week announced an ambitious plan to double the annual number of foreign visitors to the city to 20 million within the next five years by expanding and upgrading infrastructure for the tourism industry and the MICE sector, which stands for meetings, incentive travels, conventions and exhibitions. He pledged efforts to transform Seoul into a “perfect model place” for both tourism and business.

As envisioned in the plan unveiled at a meeting of a mayoral advisory council composed of global business leaders, tourist programs should be further diversified and more affordable accommodation built to enable Seoul to become the world’s fifth most-visited city by 2018. It will also be necessary to make online information services available in more foreign languages and compensate overcharged foreign tourists.

What is an equally or maybe more significant target suggested in the plan is to increase the annual number of international conferences or other events held in Seoul from 250 last year to 350 by 2018, establishing the city as the world’s third-largest convention hub. To achieve this goal, the city will push to expand relevant facilities by threefold over the coming five years, providing more financial support for public and private organizations that bring international events to Seoul.

The MICE industry has emerged as a key lucrative field that results in more value added than the routine travel industry as participants in international conventions and other events tend to spend more than ordinary tourists. According to figures from the Korea Tourism Organization, attendees of international events held here last year spent an average of $2,496 each, 1.6 times more than the expenditure of ordinary foreign tourists.

With the increase in sales, the MICE industry also produces far more jobs than the manufacturing sector. Well-organized operations and hospitality can also help enhance the national image and brand.

Thus, it is natural that major countries around the globe have been competing to expand their share of the market.

The annual number of international events hosted by Korea rose from 185 in 2006 to 563 in 2012, accounting for 5.6 percent of the world total. Singapore was the largest host with 952 events last year, followed by Japan with 731 and the U.S. at 658, according to the Union of International Associations.

Despite the steep increase in the number of international events held in Korea, the business-oriented tourism segment accounts for a mere 0.8 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, far below 2.5 percent for Australia, 2.2 percent for Canada and 1.9 percent for Singapore.

Seoul needs to be joined by other cities around the country in promoting the MICE sector. More sophisticated and concerted efforts should be made not only to attract more events but also to induce participants to spend more in addition to accommodating costs and registration fees. It may be an idea to link MICE businesses to medical tourism and cultural performances or entertainment shows.