The Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) is highlighting MICE at ITB Asia this year. The KTO has been fostering the Korea Unique Venue programme since 2017. This programme provides a selection of venues where travellers can experience a MICE event in host city or enjoy the unique charms of a specific region. While these venues are not traditional MICE facilities (i.e. convention centres, hotels), they give organisers the option of holding MICE events somewhere different.
As the MICE industry continues to grow, venues are diversifying. Corporations and institutions, which tended to prefer large scale convention centres in the past, are increasingly seeking out unique places and experiences for their events. There is a trend for private, small-scale event spaces along with an interest in venues which showcase local cultures and characteristics.
This year, the Korea MICE Bureau (KMB) selected new additional venues to bring the total number of Korea Unique Venues up to 52. The selection process for the new venues began in February with an open call from regional organisations (RTO, CVB). The resulting pool underwent an initial document and PT evaluation to create a shortlist, then in May and June, KMB conducted on-site evaluations with industry professionals to select the final venues.
All Korea Unique Venues are selected through a rigorous process in which they are evaluated based on suitability, scale and distinct characteristics. The resulting selection guarantees an event experience which allows visitors to not only experience Korean tradition and culture, but also art, leisure sports, Korean Wave, natural scenery and more.