COVID-19, which hit the global village in 2020, brought about a dire economic crisis and put a stop to the ongoing process of globalization. The pandemic has made people avoid physical contact and changed the way they view the world. According to UNWTO, the loss suffered by the tourism industry came to $1.3 trillion (=1,453 trillion won) in 2020; 100 million to 120 million jobs disappeared, with the Asia-Pacific Region hit most severely. 

Due to the spread of the pandemic, the global tourism industry has suffered from the steps taken by governments such as business stoppage, travel ban, self-isolation, work from home, etc. People in the industry are still at war with the invisible virus. 
 

Trends at the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) industry are changing rapidly, and the Gyeonggi-Do Office sees the need to come up with a new strategy to cope with the crisis caused by the pandemic with the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization (GTO) playing a central role. As part of such efforts, the Gyeonggi-Do Office has selected its “unique venues” in 2021 in preparation for the COVID-19 era.

Nowadays, the MICE industry is leading others in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and accelerating changes in the overall tourism industry and tourism trends through innovative technological development with “D.N.A. (Data, Network, and AI).” Under such circumstances, factors like the growth of the MICE industry, creation of MICE-related jobs, and venues for holding events are emerging as matters of importance in the forthcoming “COVID-19 era.” 

Businesses and organizations that used to select large-sized convention centers for their events now prefer unique venues and special opportunities for unique hands-on experiences. Thus, those catering to them need to meet their requirements with customized pinpoint strategies.  

GTO strives to provide differentiated/attractive venues of exchanges where MICE attendees can enjoy dinner parties and other special events.
 

It has selected museums, galleries, performance venues, natural parks, cruises, theme parks, studios, ancient palaces, hotels, etc. in Gyeonggi-do where MICE attendees can feel at home, getting away from the daily routine plagued by COVID-19. 

In selecting said places, GTO considered the following factors: relevant infrastructure, unique attributes, accessibility, management capability, efforts for marketing and sustainability, etc. 

The following 17 places have been selected: Asia Publication Culture Information Center (Paju), Korean Folk Village (Yongin), Suwon Traditional Culture Center (Suwon), Pocheon Herb Island (Pocheon) Shingu Botanic Garden (Seongnam), The Hill House (Yangpyeong), Petite France (Gapyeong), Art Bunker B39 (Bucheon), Midas Hotel & Resort (Gapyeong), Hyundai Motor Studio (Goyang), One Mount (Goyang), Gwangmyeong Cave (Gwangmyeong), Hyundai Cruise (Gimpo), Everland Resort (Yongin), DMZ Eco-Tourism Support Center  (Paju), Camp Greeves Youth Hostel (Paju), and The Shrine of Our Lady of Rosary of Namyang (Hwaseong). 
 

The unique venues selected are those boasting of traditional cultural atmosphere, eco-friendliness, and features of modernistic/refined structures or spaces for peaceful mind healing. 

Now, GTO needs to establish a sense of mission that the unique venue should have and come up with a strategy for coping with the COVID-19 era by having MICE hosts prepare well for holding special events with adequate programs.

It is time to come up with an urban marketing strategy considering the expectation on the growth of the non-face-to-face tourism industry and futuristic industries with high added value linked with unique values due to the development of digital technology and changes in tourism trend amid the influence of COVID-19. 

Take Austin, Texas for example—it implements an urban contents strategy, fully utilizing its advantages as a leading city of music. It uses the annual SXSW (South by Southwest) Conference & Festivals held there to have the following converge: the world’s trendiest music, comedy shows, films, exhibitions, and startup businesses. Through it, the city develops world-class conventions and grows as the No.1 city that MICE experts wish to visit.   
 

The writer attempts to present the following four as strategies for the invigoration of unique venues in the COVID-19 era:

First, the unique venues require customized strategies suited to them. It is necessary to come up with a differentiated diagnosis for them through the capability development of software factors like human resources capabilities, networking, marketing, etc. based on the analysis of their merits/demerits. 

Second, most MICE events are expected to be held on a small scale as localized ones in the COVID-19 era. As such, online PR strategies should be strengthened for mobile environment including videos and social media so that marketing may be carried out continuously through a system of close cooperation with the city hall and the host of the unique venues. 

Third, each of the unique venues should be reborn as a differentiated place with a unique local culture that offers differentiated support programs for the events held there and as a special place where visitors can have a special hands-on experience and feel drawn to it. They should note that they can offer differentiated and interesting things despite the lack of relevant resources.  

Fourth, the unique venues need to strive to engage in earnest marketing through their top management’s special interest to attract differentiated MICE events, particularly those held in Asian countries, through joint efforts with GTO.

Now, the unique venues should be reborn as popular visitor destinations where attendees and audiences can easily access updated information or trends through the sharing of information among experts from all over the world. 

Places with sufficient cultural assets are expected to become popular visitor destinations in the future.  
 

Businesses selected as unique venues should develop themselves into those specializing in futuristic sustainable tourism businesses through strategic linkage with other local industries, striving to meet the demands of visitors and those in the local community by developing clean and nice transportation and environmental infrastructure.
 
It is time for MICE-related urban strategies to be set up based on the inherent local culture that can attract visitors, fully utilizing the relevant industries (e.g., meetings/exhibitions/culture/arts/hallyu) of Gyeonggi-do.

Konkuk University
Global MICE department
Prof. Byungro Seo