KTO to bolster MICE industry

Shim Hay-ryun, director of KTO Singapore Office

By Kim Jae-kyoung

SINGAPORE ― Korea should shift the focus of growth in tourism to “quality” from “quantity” to develop it into a more value-added industry, according to a senior official of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).

To that end, she said that the KTO plans to put more efforts on developing the country into a major destination of MICE (meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions) in Asia.

“Korea has enjoyed substantial growth in terms of the number of inbound tourists. Now is the time to focus on quality growth by fostering the MICE industry,” Shim Hay-ryun, director of the KTO Singapore Office, said in a recent interview in Singapore.

“Business event travelers spend twice as much as general tourists. This means that MICE events will not only offer quality tours for foreigners but also bring more economic benefits to the country.”

The Singapore office recently succeeded in securing a large-scale incentive tour event from Herbalife International.

With a sales network in 88 countries, the global nutrition firm will host Herbalife Asia Pacific Extravaganza 2016 in Ilsan KINTEX and Goyang OneMount in Gyeonggi Province from June 16-19.

The annual event, designed to share the firm’s vision and their business success know-how, is expected to attract more than 10,000 Herbalife members from 10 countries. It is the largest-ever business tour event a KTO overseas office has attracted.

“The event is estimated to bring a total of 31.7 billion won in economic benefits to the country. Also, it will play a big role in promoting Korea as a MICE destination in Asia,” Shim said.

“This is the outcome of a year-long effort. I believe this will be a successful marketing example to show how we can create new opportunities in the MICE sector through market-tailored strategies,” She said. Singapore is one of the world’s most popular MICE destinations.

“Korea is a popular destination among general tourists in Singapore and other Asian regions but it lacks recognition as a MICE destination. We will continue to beef up our efforts by hosting more MICE-oriented fairs and exhibitions.”

The office hosted “Korea MICE & Culture Festival” in Singapore in May, 2015, in cooperation with five other KTO offices in South-East Asian nations. As a result, it is close to sealing deals with Prudential Life and Starwood Hotels & Resorts for their incentive trips to Korea.

Shim stressed that Korea has many advantages as a major destination of business event tours, citing rich cultural assets and modern technologies.

“Korea is a place where ‘old’ meets ‘new,’ with traditional cultures coexisting with new technologies. In addition, every province has its unique cuisine and culture, and pleasant convention centers,” she said.

“If we develop various team-building and gala dinner programs based on these unique assets, it will appeal to global organizations seeking to host mega events.”

The first KTO female director in Singapore said that in order to boost the MICE industry, Korea needs to take lessons from Singapore.

“The government of Singapore has placed a top priority on fostering the MICE industry with long-term vision because it will not only help promote national brand awareness but also have positive ripple effects on other industries,” she said.

In 2014, Singapore attracted a total of 15 million tourists from abroad, of which 30 percent or 5 million people visited the city state for MICE-related business event tours.