Korea aims to boost MICE tourism ahead of 2025 APEC Summit in Gyeongju

The Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) finished the Korea Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) Roadshow in Manila and Cebu on Thursday.

The event, held at Fairmont Makati in Manila on Tuesday and Radisson Blu in Cebu on Thursday, aimed at promoting their MICE offers and regional tourism in time for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit to be held at Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk.

With the participation of 250 key travel industry players in Manila and 150 in Cebu, the program featured a Travel Mart for collaboration between Korean and Philippine tourism professionals, and a Korean MICE night, which will showcase Korean culture and MICE industry.

During the event, KTO also launched their Gyeongbuk Plus Special Assistance Program, which offers up to KRW140,000 or around P5,800 per person for approved groups with bonus benefits.

Included in their enhanced MICE initiatives were customized assistance and support for qualified corporate and incentive groups with a minimum of 10 foreign nationals staying in Seoul for at least 2 nights.

“The Korea MICE Roadshow Philippines 2025 aims to promote Korea as a premier MICE destination… This will even focus on the corporate meetings and incentive tour segments within the MICE industry. Ultimately, our goal is to attract more MICE travelers from the Philippines to Korea,” said Korea MICE Bureau Executive Director Chang Wook Jung in a media interview.

“Manila and Cebu are two of the most important MICE markets in the Philippines. By holding the roadshow in both cities, we ensure wide industry engagement and better access to stakeholders who are driving outbound MICE travel in the country,” he added.

Korea remains a premium tourist and business destination worldwide, having hosted 243 international conferences and handling at least 10,000 MICE travelers from the Philippines in 2024.

The KTO highlights Korea’s convenient, safe, and seamless travel experience through their infrastructure, smart technology, and domestic transport network as key advantages of their tourism.

They also placed importance on the viral K-Culture as one of their strongest global assets at the center of their MICE strategy.

“We integrate K-Pop concerts, Korean cuisine, fashion, beauty, and cultural workshops into business events to offer immersive, unforgettable experiences. MICE travelers today want more than meetings—they want cultural enrichment and inspiration, and Korea delivers that through K-Culture,” added Chang.

Tourism efforts

The Philippine Travel Agencies Association welcomed Korea’s move, stating that agreements between the KTO and PTAA to further boost MICE tourism efforts between the two countries will promote new opportunities.

“The signing of the memorandum between the Korean Tourism Organization and the Philippine Travel Agencies Association is more than just a formal agreement. It is a celebration of shared vision, mutual respect, and a strong partnership rooted in our passion for tourism and cultural exchange," said PTAA Vice President Dominic Castillejos.

"These collaborations aim to open exciting opportunities, particularly in promoting Korea as a premier destination for MICE destination for the Filipino market. We are confident that through this partnership, we will create new strategies, inspire greater interest in Korea, and bring forth meaningful programs that will benefit both countries and industries,” he added.

Korean tourists, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI), were the Philippines' biggest source of arrivals with 1,761,281 South Koreans visiting the country in 2024. — Jiselle Anne Casucian/BAP, GMA Integrated News