Part Two
DURING my visit to Gyeonggi province in South Korea sponsored by the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization (GTO), I discovered another “gem”: the “All in One Gyeonggi” initiative.
GTO is a government organization funded by the Gyeonggi provincial government that aims to establish Gyeonggi as a dynamic business events destination where people, technology and ideas converge to create great value and memorable experiences for its MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) events. GTO has a holistic and collaborative approach in promoting these international events that are organized in any of the province’s 31 city and county destinations. As the lead organization in the tourism and business events sector in the province, GTO assists business event organizers, corporations and associations by providing comprehensive and impartial information on Gyeonggi’s meeting and exhibition facilities, incentive venues and industry partners. To sustain this push, GTO set up the Gyeonggi Convention Bureau in August 2011. It was renamed as Gyeonggi MICE Bureau (GMICE Bureau) in March 2015 to focus and provide a broad range of support for MICE activities such as attracting international conferences, developing MICE-related tourism programs, providing one-stop services, and establishing MICE business partnerships in Gyeonggi province.
GMICE Bureau provides individualized financial subsidies to business event organizers, corporations and associations, complimentary site inspections tours (including accommodation, hosted tour, interpreter, etc.), promotional and orientation materials like brochures, visitor guides, maps and audiovisuals, new marketing channel development for business events, and liaison support with relevant government bodies and third parties.
At the heart of the All in One Gyeonggi MICE strategy is the Gyeonggi MICE Alliance, a partnership between the Gyeonggi provincial government and the region’s major meetings-and-related businesses. The alliance, in effect, acts as a joint promotion and marketing body for the MICE industry in the entire province. In the Philippine context, this alliance may be likened to the public-private partnership model in infrastructure development.
The main role of the Gyeonggi MICE Alliance is to: (a) develop and recommend policies and activities to foster the MICE industry, including staff training and personal exchanges; (b) create and deliver innovative MICE products and services; and (c) develop and operate an integrated marketing, branding, public relations and information systems.
For GMICE Bureau, no event is too big or too small for Gyeonggi. It is thus dedicated to giving the full backing of the local government and industry in making MICE events anywhere in the province successful and memorable. From 2014 to 2106, results of its efforts were encouraging, with 114 MICE events and 328,000 participants recorded. This number is expected to increase.
I am sharing what I have learned from my Gyeonggi trip to policy-makers and local governments here in the hope that such focused and integrated approach to MICE development and promotion in our country could be something to emulate and replicate.
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The contributor, Octavio “Bobby” Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific, founder and CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives, and president of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Association Organizations. The purpose of PCAAE—the “association of associations”—is to advance the association-management profession and to make associations well-governed and sustainable. PCAAE enjoys the support of Adfiap, the Tourism Promotions Board and the Philippine International Convention Center. E-mail: obp@adfiap.org