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Busan Metropolitan City Announces Call for Proposals for Its “Support Program for Privately Organized Exhibitions” to Boost MICE Competitiveness

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Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Park Heong-joon announced that Busan Metropolitan City will conduct a call for proposals for its “Support Program for Privately Organized Exhibitions” from today (the 12th) through February 27 to foster the local MICE industry.

MICE is an acronym for Meetings, Incentives Travel, Conventions, and Exhibitions/Events.

This program is designed to actively support privately organized exhibitions in order to enhance Busan’s status as a MICE city and strengthen the competitiveness of local exhibition and convention companies.

Busan Metropolitan City plans to invest a total of KRW 700 million this year and select approximately six projects from among the applications.

Selected projects will receive comprehensive support to enhance international MICE competitiveness, including exhibition hosting costs, additional subsidies for participation during “Festival Siwol,” certification by the Korea Exhibition Industry Promotion Association (AKEI), expert advisory services (consulting), and performance analysis.

Support will be provided in stages based on the size of the exhibition and its growth potential:

• ●Flagship (up to KRW 120 million)

• ●Excellent (up to KRW 80 million)

• ●New (up to KRW 50 million)

In particular, projects that participate in exhibitions during the “Festival Siwol” period will receive an additional subsidy of up to KRW 30 million.

In addition, the city plans to provide focused support for large-scale or new exhibitions and exhibitions linked to the city’s strategic industries, nurturing them into representative Busan exhibitions.

Eligible applicants are privately organized exhibitions held in Busan Metropolitan City this year. Applicants must submit the application for support (both by email and printed copies) to the receiving office by 5:00 p.m. on February 27.

Overview of the 2026 Support Program for Privately Organized Exhibitions

• ●Eligibility: Exhibitions to be held in Busan in 2026 for which venue lease contracts or reservations have been completed

• ●Application period: February 12, 2026 (Thu) to February 27 (Fri), 2026, by 5:00 p.m.

• ●Submission method: Submit both by email (ljm1021@korea.kr, micebusan@naver.com) and as printed copies
  Submission address: Room 257, BEXCO Exhibition Center I, 55 APEC-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan, Busan Tourism & MICE Promotion Association (Tel. 051-740-7822)

After a document review, the city plans to convene a review committee in March to evaluate proposals based on criteria such as exhibition competitiveness, marketing capability, and contribution to related industry development, and then select the final projects to receive support.

For more information on the call for proposals, please refer to the city website notices (www.busan.go.kr/nbgosi) or contact the Tourism MICE Industry Division of Busan Metropolitan City (Tel. 051-888-5191) or the Busan Tourism & MICE Promotion Association (Tel. 051-740-7822).

Meanwhile, through the program last year, the city supported four exhibitions in areas such as sports health, food, and culture and arts, generating an economic ripple effect of KRW 25.4 billion and creating 238 jobs.

Nayunbin, Director General of the Tourism & MICE Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, said, “This program will serve as a catalyst to elevate the competitiveness of local exhibitions to the next level,” adding, “Expanding competitive exhibition content will become a key driver of growth for the MICE industry and is expected to lead Busan’s leap into a globally competitive MICE city.”