Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Invests 7.2 Billion KRW to Support Hiring of 640 People in MICE and Performance Tourism Industries

On February 26, industry officials from the MICE sector held a press conference at the COEX Exhibition Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, urging compensation for damages caused by government COVID-19 quarantine measures such as gathering bans and demanding improvements to quarantine guidelines.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 21st that it will support jobs for 640 digital professionals to help the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions) industry and performance tourism industry, which are struggling due to COVID-19, recover quickly. The support fund amounts to 7.2 billion KRW, prepared from the first supplementary budget of this year.

The Ministry will first promote the ‘MICE Industry Digital Professional Support Project (4.5 billion KRW, 400 people)’ to enhance the digital capabilities of the domestic MICE industry and lead the international MICE industry, as demand for MICE events using online and non-face-to-face technologies increases.

MICE companies such as international conference planning businesses wishing to participate in the project can submit a hiring plan for new personnel engaged in digital-related tasks such as ▲development and utilization of digital conference technology ▲planning and operation of online international conferences ▲production of digital promotional content. Selected companies can receive monthly labor costs of 1.8 million KRW per hired person for up to six months.

Additionally, the Ministry will promote the ‘Performance Tourism Digital Professional Support Project (2.7 billion KRW, 240 people)’ in cooperation with the Performance Tourism Association. This aims to build the capacity of the performance tourism industry to proactively attract inbound tourists during the COVID-19 stabilization period through strategic promotion and marketing.

Applications for each project will be accepted starting from the 22nd. Detailed information on participation conditions, application procedures, and schedules can be found on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s website and the respective project operating institutions’ websites.

A Ministry official stated, “We will closely collaborate with related organizations so that the MICE and performance tourism industries, which are experiencing severe management crises, can overcome the crisis and establish a new growth foundation in line with the online and non-face-to-face environment. We also plan to support digital professional training courses with an additional 1.9 billion KRW allocated this year to help the MICE industry discover new business models utilizing digital technology.”