Rush on Int'l Conventions

KTO focuses on attracting int'l conventions to Korea that boost spending

A number of huge international conventions have decided to hold their meetings in Korea in recent months. The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said it has successfully won its bid from the 2010 World Stroke Congress to hold its convention in Seoul recently in a tough competition with other countries including China, Taiwan, Singapore, and India.
KTO's Convention Bureau Executive Director Kim Ki-hon said the 2010 Intelligent Transportation System World Convention with about 10,000 participants around the world will also hold its convention in Seoul.
The tourism promotion agency said over 3,000 heads of retail firms from 17 countries in Asia will also come to Seoul to attend the 2009 Asia-Pacific Retailers Convention, along with the Asia Architect Convention in which some 5,000 architects from Asian countries are slated to attend, signaling a green light for the development of the international convention industry in Korea.
One of the advantages of holding international convention is that attendees spend more money than tourists, about 2.4 times more, which is a huge help to the national economy. The ITS with over 10,000 participants is likely to create some $16 million in economic effects.
KTO projects that the number of foreign tourist arrivals in the country would be around 7 million next year with the tourism agency focusing its promotion activities on attracting international conventioneers. Next year, the 46th Orient and Southeast Asia Lions Convention with over 10,000 participants is scheduled to be held in Seoul, along with the World Surgical Nurse Academic Conference with over 3,000 participants.
KTO will do its best to attract these high value-added international conventions to Korea by strengthening its cooperation with private tourism agencies and utilizing its global network with various campaign strategies to bring these international conventions to Korea next year.
According to the Union of International Association, Korea held 185 international conventions, moving up three notches to 14th from 17th last year. In order to attract more international conventions to Korea, KTO held the Korea Convention Industry Exhibition from November 30 to December 1 in Gwangju to promote meetings of convention buyers and sellers to make deals. The convention exhibition is held every year in various cities in the country to introduce the convention industry's capability to hold international conventions for foreign conventioneers and also securing regional balance in the growth of the industry.
Korea Convention Fair
The Gwangju event took place in the KimDaejung Convention Center jointly sponsored by the KTO and the convention center, which opened in September 2005. About 2,000 participants from various business sectors sent their representatives to the event, including academics, associations, the corporate community, government agencies, convention sponsors, performance hall operators, resort operators, educational institutions, hotels, travel agents, airlines, and performance planners, screen equipment makers, brochure makers, and convention organizers.
Convention organizers and meeting planners from both at home and abroad, and incentive providers participated in the event as buyers and sellers. Also held were international convention holders briefing sessions, convention symposium, seller-buyer workshops, and meetings of Korea Convention Association representatives to diagnose the current status of the Korean convention industry and other sideline events.
At the 7th convention industry annual fair in Gwangju, a new approach was experimented for the first time, such as the Pre-Schedule Appointment(PSA) to match buyers and sellers for better opportunities to make deals between them. International convention organizers and incentive providers from such countries as Britain, France, Germany, Japan, China, Malaysia, and Singapore were invited to the meeting and after the meeting, foreign buyers were taken to tours to big cities in the country like Seoul, Daejeon, Daegu and Busan as part of the plan by KTO to lure international conventions to Korea.
For the first time, KTO operated joint pavilions for convention service operators with the rent amounting to 330,000 won per pavilion and 110,000 won for joint pavilion. For firms that applied for joint pavilions, KTO provided booths to display brochures, posters, and other items, along with the booth operators. nw

(Photos from above) A group of dignitaries cut ribbons at the opening of the Korea Convention Fair in Gwangju Nov.30. An inside view of the Korea Convention Fair.