The Seoul city government said Sunday that it will inject 10 billion won ($8.6 million) this year to support the meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition industry in 2017.
The metropolitan city said in its new five-point plan that it will be sponsoring the See you in SEOUL Special event to make Seoul more attractive as the destination for MICE.
Korea MICE Expo 2016 that was held by the Korea Tourism Organization last year. (Yonhap)
The industry refers to a kind of package service that bundles together meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions.
Building up this business can greatly benefit the capital city by boasting inbound foreign visitors.
"The main participants of conventions and exhibitions are more well off and spend an average 1.8 times more than the regular tourist," a city official said. He pointed out that building up the sector can create more jobs and fuel growth of the value-added service sector.
Seoul's plan calls for careful screening of conventions and exhibitions that are eligible for support, setting up comprehensive promotion packages, support MICE sector support projects, help establish new tourism and first-hand experience programs and strengthen cooperation between the public and private sector that can bolster the city's overall competitiveness in this business area.
As part of establishing new attractions, Seoul will get visitors to take part in festivals, events and see traditional markets.
"From five projects that got direct assistance in the past per year, the city plans to assist 11 programs in 2017," a municipal government insider said.
Seoul said due to the diplomatic row with China over the deployment of an advanced US missile defense system, the city will pay closer attention to attracting people and events from Southeast Asia, India and Japan this year. (Yonhap)