The Seoul Tourism Organization (CEO: Jae-sung Rhee) held a FAM tour for buyers and media delegates to stimulate new MICE market and strengthen the competitiveness of Seoul as an attractive destination in acknowledgement of MICE industry as one of the core industries of the future. The 2019 Seoul Buyer FAM Tour was held from September 2 (Mon) to 5 (Thu), and the 2019 Seoul Media FAM Tour was held a day earlier, from September 1 (Sun) to 5 (Thu). 16 corporate meetings and incentive buyers from 10 countries in Asia Pacific and the Middle East were invited in collaboration with Asiana Airlines for the Buyer FAM tour. And delegates were invited to Media FAM tour from major magazines in Asia but not limited to Asia only.
The tour for buyers focused on real experience including team building activities and unique venues inspections to let them feel as though they were participants of corporate meetings or incentive tours. K-POP experiences and Hangang River kayaking were the most popular experiences. Natasha Shaharis, head of Travel Biz & Tour Sdn Bhd, MICE and leisure, travel agency in Malaysia, said, “We sent out incentives to Seoul, Gangwon, and Jeju Island many times but the activities we could suggest were limited to famous sightseeing and shopping. Now we will be able to suggest different events to corporate customers by learning various team building programs and the new unique venues. ”
The Media FAM Tour was held with seven influential professional MICE media delegates and organized the itinerary under the theme of ‘sustainability’, ‘Korean wave,’ and “diversity’ which are the current keywords in trend of the MICE industry. Delegates not visited and discovered Seoul’s unique venues and team building programs in line with the theme of this media FAM tour, but also took a look around various places in relation to urban regeneration and sustainability of Seoul, such as Resource Recovery Facility and Haneul Park.
In addition, cultural and religious diversity of Seoul were introduced to show the backbone of what MICE industry is built upon in the city. Media delegates explored SM TOWN Artium where they had a chance to see the Korean Wave in action and had a real experience of recording one of the famous K-POP songs at the King Studio. Along with the activities, many international conferences and exhibitions related to the venues or the theme were introduced to emphasize that MICE events in the related industry sector are actively held in Seoul.
Media FAM tour participants commented that the FAM tour was a great opportunity to learn not only Seoul’s MICE infrastructure but also the background stories in relation to sustainability, the Korean Wave, and multiculturalism. They mentioned that it had a nice balance in between.
This FAM tour participants successfully completed the busy schedule of visiting a total of 18 unique venues and 6 team building programs. Kim Ji-hyun, the head of the MICE Planning Team in Seoul Tourism Organization, said, “This FAM tour was a meaningful FAM tour to promote the unique venues and exciting team building programs of Seoul MICE Alliance members. Our team will continue the effort in dedication to promote Seoul as exciting destination.”
More information about Seoul MICE Alliance which includes over 300 city-approved local event venues and service providers, along with the PLUS SEOUL, is available at www.miceseoul.com.