| Seoul has been picked as the Best MICE City for the fifth straight year. / gettyimagesbank |
By Kang Seung-woo
Seoul has been picked as the Best MICE City for the fifth consecutive year by a prestigious international travel magazine, the metropolitan government said Sunday.
MICE stands for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions.
According to Global Traveler, the Korean capital beat out other high-profile global cities, including Dubai, Singapore, London and Paris to retain the title.
Every year, the magazine, which was established in 2004 and issues about 105,000 copies per month, conducts online and offline polls among its 300,000 ― online and offline ― subscribers to decide winners of the annual Global Traveler Tested Reader Survey Awards. The awards honor cities, companies and organizations for excellence in each category, including airlines, hotels, the airport industry as well as MICE.
Winning the award five straight times, Seoul has become the first city in the world to take home the Quint Award that is conferred on winners of the same award for five consecutive times.
Along with the award, Seoul has been named the top-three convention city for the fourth straight year, from 2015 to 2018, expanding its presence in the MICE sector.
Last September, it hosted the annual conference of the International Bar Association, drawing some 7,000 delegates from 131 countries. In addition, it won the bid in July to hold the World Congress of Endourology in 2022, where 2,500 people from 90 countries around the world are expected to attend.
"It is impressive that Seoul has been selected as the best MICE city in the world for five straight years," a Global Traveler official said.
"Seoul's brand awareness has sharply risen thanks to the Seoul Metropolitan Government's aggressive marketing strategy that helped establish itself as a leading MICE place."
Joo Yong-tae, director-general of tourism and sports at the city government, said, "As new MICE infrastructure is in the pipeline around Seoul, we are set to make the capital a trend-setting MICE venue."
Along with Seoul City, Asiana Airlines won the Best Airline Onboard Service Award and the Best Airline Flight Attendants Award, while Lotte Hotels and Resorts became the winner of the Best MICE Hotel and Best Hotel in Korea categories.
Incheon International Airport was named the best airport in Asia.