STO Runs Away with Coveted ICCA Best Marketing Award

President Rhee Jae-sung of Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) gives an opening speech at “2020 ICCA Congress Hub Seoul,” which took place at Coex in Seoul from Nov. 2 and Nov. 3. (Photos: STO)

The Seoul Metropolitan Government was honored with the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Best Marketing Award at ICCA Congress 2020, which took place online and virtually in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Nov. 3.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought havoc on the global MICE industry, SMG’s policy efforts to overcome the crisis have been recognized by the international community.

SMG said Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) won the ICAA Best Marketing Award at ICCA Congress 2020.

STO's winning the Best Marketing Award at ICCA Congress 2020, which took place in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Nov. 3.

ICCA has a membership of 1,277 companies and organizations specializing in international conventions in 93 countries. ICCA has presented the Best Marketing Award, also known as “the Oscar of the convention field,” to organizations recognized for their excellent urban market activities since 1997.

The five 2020 ICCA Best Marketing Award winners included STO, KINTEX, Korea’s biggest convention center in Goyang, Flanders Bureau in Belgium, Kuala Lumpur Convention Center.

It was the first time that STO and KINTEX won the ICCA Best Market Award since 2012 when a Taiwanese MICE organization became the first Asian entity to win the award. European conventional organizations have so far swept the award.

STO President Rhee Jae-sung said at an awards ceremony, “Seizing a crisis, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as an opportunity on the contrary, the Seoul MICE industry, promoting shared growth with the business circle, has ascertained its sustainability potential.”

This year, the Korean MICE industry has almost fallen into a crisis of extinction in the wake of the pandemic. Figures, released by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), showed that 6,591 international conferences and conventions were originally scheduled for this year, but 5,258 or 79.8 percent of the total were cancelled or delayed.

About 30 percent of exhibition businesses closed temporally or went out of business, incurring an estimated 1.7 trillion won in damages.

Despite the hardships, caused by the pandemic, SMG officials, including Dir.-Gen. Joo Yong-tae of the Tourism & Sports Bureau at SMG, has provided support to the MICE industry in cooperation with STO by establishing steps to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and non-face-to-face platforms.

Among the representative support steps SMG has implemented are the disinfecting of event venues, ‘safety insurance,” and the establishment of “Virtual Seoul Platform, which comprises 360˚ VR videos on Seoul’s landmarks and its unique venues in virtual space.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Tourism Organization laid out the “Seoul-type Innovation-Powered MICE Support Plan” on Oct. 19.

Key-note speakers speak on the title “non-face-to-face contact of the convention industry and digital transformation strategies” at 2020 ICCA Congress Hub Seoul.

The plan includes expanding support measures centered on offline events to online and hybrid (online and offline) events, selecting and supporting 32 exhibitions in each stage of their development, and strengthening support for offline events focused on safety and the prevention of COVID-19 virus infections.

Dir.-Gen. Joo said SMG will fire on all cylinders to establish Seoul as a representative city of the MICE industry by establishing long-term strategies to lead the MICE industry in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.