Ministry of Culture and Tourism Organization, Improvement of MICE and International Conference Support Systems

Korea Tourism Organization Wonju Headquarters Building

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 3rd that it will significantly revamp its support system in collaboration with the Korea Tourism Organization to assist the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions) industry, which has been struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, and to enhance competitiveness in attracting international conferences.

Since November last year, the Ministry and the Tourism Organization have been implementing revised support measures, including easing criteria for foreign participants, to revitalize the MICE industry. This was in response to severe industry damage caused by COVID-19, with about 80% of scheduled international conference events last year being canceled or postponed.

The upcoming revision, effective from the 3rd, reflects feedback from the related industry and is designed to proactively respond not only to the COVID-19 crisis but also to the new normal era characterized by non-face-to-face interactions and technological innovation.

First, the formula for calculating support amounts has been simplified and clarified. Previously, the base amount and basic score were too low, and there were many bonus point categories, making it complicated. Going forward, the support amount can be calculated solely based on the actual number of participants. Additionally, during the COVID-19 period, domestic participants are temporarily included in the total participant count to expand practical support. The inclusion ratio of domestic participants can be up to three times that of foreign participants.

New improvements have also been added to promote post-COVID-19 attraction and prepare for the new normal era. Among the newly introduced projects this year are bonus point categories such as ‘Promising International Conferences for Attraction’ identified through the Korea Tourism Organization’s overseas branch discoveries and international organization database analysis, and ‘Utilization of Specialized PCOs (Professional Conference Organizers).’ Since the locations of international conferences are typically decided 2 to 3 years in advance, these measures aim to actively promote attraction marketing starting this year.

Reflecting changes in the international conference hosting paradigm, support items have been expanded to facilitate smooth online meetings, including online fam tour content production, attraction and promotional activities, and the use of digital technologies. Furthermore, offline support items to promote MICE events have been newly established, such as quarantine accommodation cost support for international headquarters officials visiting Korea for site inspections and bonus points based on the proportion of offline participants.

To strengthen the attraction of medium-sized and larger conferences (with 500 or more foreign participants) that have high economic ripple effects, a ‘super-large’ category has been added to the existing medium-to-large convention support system. The focus has also been on maximizing convenience and usability by expanding support by scale and minimizing detailed criteria within support items. Notably, whereas this system was previously selected and supported internally by the Korea Tourism Organization, it will now be widely accessible through the organization’s K-MICE website, where guidance and application submissions will be available.

Detailed information on the improved international conference support system can be found by accessing the ‘Business Support’ menu on the K-MICE website.

Moon Sang-ho, head of the MICE Marketing Team at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, “The core of this system revision is to simplify the support formula by extensively gathering industry opinions and to reflect practical support items necessary for digital conferences. We will encourage continuous hosting of MICE events.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.