2021 Virtual MICE Show: SEOUL LIVE ON, an event hosted by the Seoul Tourism Organisation on 21-22 July, saw international and domestic MICE industry buyers and sellers come together on the Seoul Virtual Platform.
Entering the event, e-visitors were greeted by a Seoul-style virtual island. Within this island were buildings modelled on significant Seoul landmarks, which directed attendees towards different aspects of the event itself. This interface was simple and easy to understand, however, it could have benefited from faster shortcuts to speed up navigation through the virtual platform.
Some of these buildings included Seoul MICE, which reserved a virtual networking space by way of its Seoul Lounge feature, and Seoul Discovery, which offered over 35 interactive options to engage with the South Korean capital, its tourist attractions, culture, and its neighbouring cities.
The event also offered an opportunity to learn more about the 2021 Plus Seoul MICE Support Program, which offers fiscal and technical support for event organisers and attendees coming to Seoul.
With regards further interactive content, the event platform offered multiple workshops, lounges and a Conference Hall for attendees to communicate through. Each workshop offered a different question for attendees to consider and discuss with other members of the industry.
Finally, the event broadcast its opening ceremony and commerce sessions through the Seoul Live Stage. This area also acted as a forum for all the live videos produced throughout the event, allowing individuals from different time zones to access the same content at a time that was suitable for them.
However, while there were some ‘live’ videos produced throughout the event, the bulk appeared to be pre-recorded videos for attendees to access. This did improve ease of access for all international attendees, but took away from the interactivity of the event itself.
Don Byun, executive director of the Seoul Tourism Organisation, concluded: “Hopefully, all of the 2021 Virtual MICE Show participants will have a new sense of insight for the upcoming next normal era.”
While this ‘new normal’ did improve from the Covid-19 forced webinar style, it still lacked the interactivity and authenticity provided by an in-person event. Yet, the event’s style provides lessons to other event organisers on how to provide a personalised and memorable event, especially for tourism agencies.
For more information on the event, visit here.
