The Seoul Convention Bureau organised online shopping promotions with Seoul MICE Alliance (SMA) to present luxurious products, usually offered to business travellers, to local Seoulites in sponsoring the MICE industry. It further exposed the challenging situation the industry is facing to the public. Thirteen SMA members from four categories- unique venue, entertainment, transportation, and hotel, stepped out of their comfort zone and arranged their products to accommodate the public’s interest. These members were Courtyard Marriott Seoul Namdaemun, Courtyard Marriott Seoul Times Square, E-Land Cruise, Floating Island Convention, Four Points by Sheraton Seoul (Guro), Golden Blue Marina, Lotte World, N Seoul Tower, Korea House, Seoul Garden Hotel, Seoul Tour Bus Travel Service, Swiss Grand Hotel, and Trick Eye Museum.
The online promotion was on the website of one of the major shopping channels in Korea. Various products including hotel packages, restaurant vouchers, city tour bus tickets, cruise tickets and yacht packages were offered for sales for a week from the 7th to 14th of July. One hour of livestream shopping was also offered with popular influencers on July 9th. It introduced yacht packages from Golden Blue Marina which might be new to most of the viewers along with a recommended tour course utilising the products on the website. The most significant sales were recorded when the shopping host showed her actual ride on the yacht with the gorgeous view of Hangang River in the backdrop. Reflecting the need for exclusiveness, yacht packages at a reasonable price appeared to persuade many who liked to enjoy refreshments with close ones. All products are offered with a long validity considering the current situation with the novel virus.
Jihyun Kim, director of the MICE Planning team at the Seoul Tourism Organization said, “the MICE industry around the world is in an unprecedented crisis due to the pandemic. Despite the challenges, this online shopping promotion was an excellent opportunity to promote the MICE industry to the public and make known the difficult state, nevertheless. We will maintain our effort of proactively seeking new ways to support the industry and our SMA members.”
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