Incheon Mayor
Ahn Sang-soo |
By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
Despite unfavorable travel conditions over the last few months, the Incheon Fair & Festival attracted around 6,600,000 visitors to the port city. The festival came to a close Sunday after an 80-day run in New Songdo City, Incheon.
"Visitors and the media from all over the world paid keen attention to our city and the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) during the festival," Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo said during a press conference Monday. U.S. broadcasters CNN and ABC as well as CCTV from China covered the festival.
The world's first event on urban development models for the future was initially conceived a few years ago by the mayor, partly to publicize the IFEZ.
"I am more than 100-percent confident that the main purpose of the festival has been achieved. The global branding of Incheon will greatly expand opportunities for investment in the IFEZ," he said.
Incheon hosted some 70 events on the sidelines, including the 2009 Asia Pacific Cities Summit, the World City Water Forum 2009 and the Incheon International Conference for Urban Humanities.
The mayor said that he will plan a large-scale event every two years specifically to increase the global branding power of Incheon and to introduce the lesser known parts of the IFEZ, including Yeongjong and Cheongna regions.
Incheon has a history of hosting large-scale international events. Preparations are under way to host the 2014 Asian Games. "I am convinced that our successful experiences in organizing the festival will be useful in hosting large-scale events in the future," the mayor said.
Representatives of businesses and government as well as urban planners from more than 90 countries gathered in Incheon over the duration to explore futuristic urban development models and lifestyles utilizing up-to-date digital technologies.
Over 130 cities with distinctive experiences and expertise in urban development, such as New York, Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan, showcased their progress. Incheon drew a particularly large crowd when the colossal Incheon Bridge, the world's seventh-longest, opened on Oct. 15.
jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr
|
무디스, 스페인·伊·포르투갈 신용등급 강등
