Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Announces Basic Plan for Fostering International Conference Industry
Jang Miran "Aiming to Attract 1.3 Million Foreign Participants"
Providing Priority Immigration Screening for Key Participants
The government is establishing a Korean version of the Davos Forum to become a central nation in the international conference industry.
On the 18th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the "5th Basic Plan for Fostering the International Conference Industry (2024?2028)" at the 42nd Government Policy Meeting chaired by the Prime Minister. Based on the "Future Vision and Strategy for the MICE Industry" announced last March, and through discussions with public-private consultative bodies, twenty-six detailed implementation tasks were prepared. The plan is to concretize these by 2028 and hold the largest number of international conferences in the world.
Vice Minister Jang Mi-ran stated, "The goal is to attract 1.3 million foreign participants and achieve $3 billion in foreign currency earnings," adding, "We will realize this through collaboration with local governments and the private sector."
The policy receiving the most focus is the creation of a sustainable regional growth model. Regional international conference dedicated organizations will be supported to discover high-level international conferences linked to regional strategic industries. A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official said, "We will intensively foster this for up to 20 years to develop it into a Korean version of the Davos Forum."
The starting point is the reform of the international conference complex district system. The current International Conference Industry Act limits the designation and activation support of international conference complex districts to areas where related facilities such as international conference venues, hotels, and shopping malls can be concentrated. To assist regions with sufficient development potential but that do not meet legal requirements, the Ministry will establish a "Preliminary International Conference District." Additionally, a "Metropolitan Area Cooperation System for International Conferences" will be built to encourage collaboration with neighboring regions during the attraction and hosting of international conferences.
For attracting international conferences, the Korea Tourism Organization will utilize its dedicated organizational network established in overseas branches. The plan is to double its scale and strengthen expertise to secure leadership in headquarters of international organizations. A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official said, "We plan to operate a public-private consultative body involving the Tourism Organization, local governments, regional international conference organizations, and the industry to focus on large-scale international conferences." He added, "We will provide conveniences such as priority immigration lanes and K-culture experiences to key international conference participants to encourage repeat visits."
The Ministry will also establish eighteen international conference specialized export support centers overseas. These centers will provide customized support for local settlement and investment attraction of international conference companies. Furthermore, ten international conference technology companies developing and utilizing digital new technologies will be selected and fostered, and support projects will be promoted to apply already developed technologies to international conference events. The standards for international conference facility businesses specified in the Tourism Promotion Act will also be relaxed. Facilities such as hotels and condominiums where international conferences are frequently held will be included as targets for international conference facility businesses.
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