Korean Capital Scoops Top Business Traveler Readers’ Choice Award
Seoul is the proud recipient of the “Best International Meetings Destination” award for 2012 as voted by readers of the popular global magazine Business Traveler (US Edition). This is the first time the annual readers’ awards have featured the category, making the award all the more significant for the Korean capital.
“Seoul is absolutely thrilled to be the recipient of this award.
We are also honored to be the first city outside of the United States to receive this distinction,” enthused Jin-Young Park, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Tourism Policy Division.
“We have worked hard to live up to our goal of becoming ‘Your Complete Convention City’ and it is recognition from our international visitors such as this that tells us we are getting there,” said Sung-Real Lee, CEO of Seoul Tourism Organization.
Significant wins were also achieved by South Korea’s two flag carriers Asiana Airlines and Korean Air, most notably receiving the “Best Overall Airline In The World” and “Best Airline in Asia” awards respectively. The airlines are also members of the Seoul MICE Alliance, a partnership between government agencies and business tourism private sector organizations. Meanwhile, Incheon International Airport was voted the “Airport with Best Duty-Free Shopping” in the “Best Places To Connect” category.
To see the full awards list, visit the official site here.
Seoul Coex convention and exhibition center, as seen from the Bongeunsa Buddhist Temple in Seoul’s Gangnam district
Of the 10 worldwide editions of Business Traveler, the US edition has by far the largest circulation of 185,000 – which constitutes about 40% of Business Traveler’s total circulation of 451,784. The vast majority of its readers are executive level decision makers, who play key roles in the choosing of destinations for incentive meetings, corporate meetings, and even large international congresses.
“Business Traveler readers know the business of travel better than anyone else in the world,” affirmed the magazine’s editorial staff during the 2011 awards. “After all, you depend on the products and services that travel providers supply every day, so who better to judge their relative merits?”
The Seoul Tourism Organization would like to thank Business Traveler and its readers for the personal vote of confidence.
Seoul Convention Bureau (SCB), a division of the Seoul Tourism Organization, is the official government-sponsored body representing and promoting the city overseas as a prime venue for meetings, conventions and exhibitions. The SCB is in charge of international marketing and public relations for Seoul as a convention city.
Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) is a joint venture launched by the city and private enterprises in February 2008 with a core mission to promote Seoul as a convention and tourism destination.
According to the most recent sets of UIA data, Seoul was ranked 5th in the world for number of international conferences hosted in 2010 and 2011
