Korea Tourism Organization Secures IEEE VR for the First Time in Korea... Event to be Held in Daegu Next March

The Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 21st that it will host the '2026 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Virtual Reality Conference (2026 IEEE VR)' from March 21 to 25 next year at Daegu EXCO.

The Tourism Organization stated that, as a result of collaboration with industry-academic research institutes and the organizing committee, it has successfully attracted the IEEE VR conference to Korea for the first time. Since 2020, the Tourism Organization and the industry-academic research institutes have been working to secure the hosting rights for the '2026 IEEE VR.' Due to the impact of COVID-19, the selection of the host city was postponed several times, but in August 2022, the bidding process resumed. Through a memorandum of understanding with the industry-academic research institutes, the Tourism Organization made multifaceted efforts including on-site sales and online and offline promotions. As a result, Korea was confirmed as the final host at the '2025 IEEE VR' held in Saint-Malo, France, on the 11th.

Kim Jeong-hyun, the organizing committee chairman, presenting the bid for the Olympics [Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]

IEEE VR is the world's most prestigious international conference in the fields of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (XR), and the metaverse, which began in 1993. Every year, global VR content developers, engineers, artists, and entrepreneurs participate to present recent research achievements and exchange technologies. Global companies such as Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Qualcomm participate as sponsors, and over 1,000 experts from home and abroad attend.

The Tourism Organization stated that, as of now, the 2026 IEEE VR is expected to attract 600 foreign participants and generate approximately 2.6 billion KRW in production inducement effects.

Jung Chang-wook, head of the MICE division at the Korea Tourism Organization, said, "The successful first-time attraction of the 2026 IEEE VR to Korea is significant in that a strong international conference was brought to the region through the establishment of an industry-government-academia cooperation system." He added, "We will continue to work with related organizations such as regional MICE dedicated organizations to attract major international conferences to the regions."