Starting this year, the requirements for international conventions support for events held in Korea will be significantly relaxed. This follows after the passing of the amendment to the International Conference Industry Promotion Act in September of last year, in which support was expanded to include small events from the original target of medium- to large-scale events. The update is anticipated to help attract small and medium-sized events which have been rapidly increasing since the outbreak of COVID-19 and promote the development of small-scale events.
The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) announced it will partially subsidize the cost of events with a total of 100 or more participants, which include 50 or more foreigners from three countries, in accordance with the relaxed international conference support standards announced on January 18th. The target of support is international conferences held for more than two days by organizations and companies including international organizations, institutions, and academic associations which have a unique registration number in Korea. Overseas organizations or associations that are not registered in Korea can also receive support by designating a convention bureau (CVB) or hotel.
The subsidy amount ranges from 10 million to 60 million won, ranging from a small conference with 50 foreign participants to a large event with over 1,500 total participants. Up to 60% of additional support is provided based on evaluations of events held outside the metropolitan area, use of Korea Unique Venue and the Standard Contract for International Conference Services, compliance with Sustainable Event Management (ISO20121) guidelines and more.
Online meetings, temporarily supported due to the COVID-19 crisis, will be excluded from support starting this year. Considering that international air routes have not yet fully recovered, hybrid conferences remain under support. Support for hybrid events is 20,000 won per foreign online participant, for up to 10 million won. International conferences for political, religious, sports, and commercial purposes, which are excluded from international conferences based on the UIA standards, receive differential support according to their size within the limit of 5 million won.
The provision of support is divided into the first and second half of the year. Applications for support for the first half of this year will be accepted through February on KTO’s K-MICE homepage. Hwang Kun Hyok, Director of the MICE Marketing Team at the Korea Tourism Organization, said, “The results for the international conventions support held in the first half of the year will be announced in early March,” he continued, “Events held during the submission and judging period of January and February are eligible for support as well, with support provided after the event.”
