COVID-19 has had a significant impact on all of our lives, and this is no more keenly felt than in the events industry, where MICE travel has all but stopped until we wrestle back control from the grips of the pandemic. Jeju CVB has been working hard so that it is ready to welcome visitors back to its shores
Jeju Convention and Visitors Bureau (Jeju CVB) is a non-profit organisation comprising 179 MICE Alliance members, including accommodation providers, conference facilities, tourist attractions, destination management companies, professional congress organisers, and multiple others. Jeju CVB has been working to boost Jeju’s reputation as a top-class MICE destination for the last decade.
During this time, the organisation has attained impressive know-how within the industry, offering excellent support programmes, one-stop information services and marketing activities. As a result of its passionate efforts, Jeju CVB hosts, on average, over 200 national and international MICE every year, including a series of world-class ones (but sadly not in 2020 because of COVID-19)
Jeju CVB is confident that after the pandemic subsides, Jeju will be a safer and more attractive destination for MICE than any other city in the world because Jeju has implemented strict protocols. Jeju CVB is willing to back comprehensive safety protocols for MICE by distributing hand sanitisers, and support event venue disinfection and shuttle buses for participants. Jeju CVB plans to utilise these efforts and continue to promote the island as a ‘destination for safe MICE’ for its destination marketing strategy.
Jeju is a UNESCO-recognised World Natural Heritage Site and a free international city, allowing visitors from over 187 global destinations to enter the island without a visa. This unique combination of business and leisure really makes Jeju stand out: with a range of UNESCO World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserve and Global Geopark offering a wide selection of stunning beaches, and beautiful green areas. Hotels and conference centres to suit a variety of budgets and requirements can be found all across the island, offering services to suit both large and small events. State-of-the-art facilities amid unbeatable natural surroundings are also on offer competing with those in high-profile cities the world over.
This year, Jeju CVB has selected 13 unique venues and seven customised tour programmes for MICE and will develop all these items to give participants a ‘Jeju experience’, combining natural scenery and our unique culture. Jeju CVB is certain that all MICE in Jeju will be memorable to participants. In terms of future marketing, Jeju CVB intends to introduce a non-face-to-face approach, producing information videos for MICE, which contain Jeju’s MICE infrastructure and support system, and then distribute this to event organisers.
Jeju CVB is currently working on a proposal for large-scale international conferences and conducts steady market research to attract international conferences. In these turbulent COVID-19 circumstances, it is also a priority to support hybrid meetings so that international conferences can be held continuously in Jeju. And Jeju CVB is looking at opening up incentives for its tour market with countries and cities that are safe from the spread of COVID-19. Safety is the most important thing now. Jeju CVB is confident that if it continues to promote and maintain a ‘safety first’ approach, then together we will overcome the threat that COVID-19 has posed this year, and Jeju will continue to be the preferred choice for MICE venue. Jeju CVB will continue to promote the message “Meet in Jeju after COVID-19. Jeju is safe and will be safer.”
