MICE
Korea: Olympic business
Leading ‘smart city’ Songdo is set to be joined in the international spotlight by Pyeongchang and Gangneung when the Winter Olympics comes to Korea in 2018
By MARTIN DONOVAN I
NCHEON HAS GAINED GLOBAL PROFILE IN RECENT YEARS with the develop- ment of its sustainable, hi-tech city Songdo, with MICE a key compo- nent of its growth strategy. And
now Gangwon province is appearing on MICE planners’ radars as it gets set to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. Songdo City, one of the three Incheon
Free Economic Zones (IFEZs), hosts Korean and international hi-tech companies and features the country’s first park that chan- nels seawater through 1.8km of waterways. Songdo is also home to the Convensia,
130 BBT January/February 2017
which is set to double the size of its ball- room and exhibition space by 2022. Pyeongchang, in Gangwon province,
will be hosting the mountain sports of the Winter Olympics in February 2018, while further east, around the coastal city of Gangneung, will be the ice sports, such as hockey and skating. Gangwon will be served by the KTX high-speed rail network with a route that will connect Pyeongchang to Incheon In- ternational airport, bringing visitors to the Games in around 70 minutes from Seoul. MICE will also play a vital role in the post- Games’ legacy with Gangwon Convention
& Visitors’ Bureau counting on new venues, and accommodation, and a range of activi- ties to strengthen the province’s portfolio. Incheon has enjoyed an enduring appeal
to overseas traders as a gateway to Korea. Now the district of Songdo is being posi- tioned as the IFEZ’s city for hi-tech and sus- tainable development with a special appeal to conference groups. Songdo took shape as land began to be reclaimed from the Yellow Sea in 2003, in a scheme earmarked for completion in 2022. Besides business, there is a growing selection of ideas that event planners can avail themselves once meetings are over.
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