MICE industry statistics framework completed, from corporate meetings to international conferences

The KTO said on the 26th that the “Meeting Industry (Conference Industry) Status Survey,” which aims to measure the scale and current state of South Korea’s meeting industry, has been designated as official national statistics by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
The meeting industry encompasses corporate meetings and other meetings hosted by government agencies, public institutions, associations, and academic societies. Along with incentive travel, international conferences, and exhibitions, it makes up the MICE industry.
In 2024, about 169,000 meetings were held in South Korea, accounting for 94.2% of all MICE events, with 15.76 million participants.
After securing official national statistics for international conferences in 2024 and incentive travel in 2025, the KTO has now secured them for the meeting industry as well. For exhibitions, it uses existing statistics from the Korea Exhibition Industry Promotion Association.
The survey targets meeting venues in 13 industry sectors nationwide, including hotels, universities, and training centers, and collects data on the scale of meetings held, event budgets, and businesses’ revenue and employment. The first results are scheduled to be released in December 2027 through the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) and the Korea Tourism Data Lab.
Hyeon-ji Do, head of the Tourism Data Office at the KTO, said, “With meetings now also designated as official national statistics, following international conferences and incentive travel, the national statistics framework for the entire MICE sector is complete. We will support policies to foster the MICE industry based on highly reliable statistics.”
[email protected] Sun-Min Jung Reporter