MICE Industry
In November 2020, the City of Busan announced the "Busan Metropolitan City MICE Industry Medium and Long-term Promotion Plan" to take the next leap forward to become a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) hub city of Asia. The MICE industry was designated as one of Busan’s seven key strategic industries.
As the MICE industry is now recognized as a high-value-added sector and tourism resource worldwide, countries all over the world are putting their best foot forward to develop their MICE industries as a means to stimulate economic development.
In order to accomplish this growth, the MICE industry has been working with specialized large scale exhibition and convention centers that accommodate internationally renowned conferences, exhibitions, incentive tours and events. To provide various MICE-related services, the industry systematically operates in conjunction with accommodation, transportation, tourism, trade and distribution businesses.
The average expenditure per MICE-related visitor exceeds that of the general tourist. This industry also creates jobs and raises the profile of the host country, which in turn has a significant impact on the local economy. Many countries, such as China, Japan, Singapore, and the United States have already recognized the benefits of this industry and have implemented strategies accordingly to foster its growth at the national level.
To encourage growth in this important industry, the City of Busan completed the new expansion of the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) and auditorium in 2012. The city has also provided steady support to the private sector to host, as well as participate in exhibitions overseas and promote hidden champions within the MICE field.
The City of Busan has proven to be one of the best convention cities in the world as it has hosted 239 international conferences as of 2019 (ranked 5th in Asia, 13th in the world) according to the Union of International Association (UIA).
The City of Busan also provided an opportunity to introduce the MICE industry to the public at home and abroad by hosting the MICE Festival and the Busan MICE Overseas Road Show annually. The city plans to continue its strong support of this industry as it strives to emerge as a major MICE center in Asia.
