Overcoming obstacles and serving customers

Celion Su

Reporter： Please introduce the facilities and business of your venue.

Yoon： Korea International Exhibition& Convention Center （KINTEX） was established in 2002 and opened its facilities in 2005， with the investment from the Gyeonggi provincial government， Goyang city government， and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency （KOTRA）. As a semi public organization， KINTEX currently has 108，000 square meters of exhibition space divided into 10 halls. To meet the increasing market needs， we plan to build additional 70，000 square meters of exhibition space. Once started， the expansion scheme is expected to be finished by 2022.

In terms of KINTEX revenue， 60% comes from space rental. KINTEX hosts around 200 trade shows and 1，200 meetings of various sizes each year. The average exhibition space for one trade show is 20，000 square meters， the busiest season for exhibitions is from April to May， and from September to November. The remaining 40% of the revenue comes from KINTEXs own brand shows and space rental in the office building.

Reporter： Do you think that government support is essential for local MICE industry？

Yoon： Yes， I think government support is important. Korean government allocates 7 billion Korean won to boost local exhibition industry each year， and KINTEX receives subsidies for attending industry events to bring more Korean players to join international trade shows.

Reporter： Is competition fierce for Korea venues？ How do you face challenges？

Yoon： There are about 14 exhibition venues in Korea. While KINTEX is the biggest， it is located around 30km away from Seoul city center， which can be an important issue for some organizers and visitors. Therefore， we have launched many promotion activities to increase publicity and put much effort to increase accessibility. There are more public transportation routes to the venue， and we also arrange shuttle buses to make it more comfortable for our visitors to attend our shows. Once the construction of fast train is finished， it will only take 18 minutes from Seoul city center to KINTEX.

In addition， our hall rental rate is only 80% of that of the downtown venues， which can be a huge benefit to the organizers. We also have partnerships with over 100 hotels nearby， which provide discounts for the exhibitors and visitors coming to attend shows at KINTEX.

Reporter： How about your own shows？ Will it interfere with existing shows of your clients？

Yoon： First of all， we do not compete with our customers. This is also partly due to the fact that KINTEX is a semi public organization. Each year， KINTEX organizes about 20 brand shows， most of which are B2B in nature. Some of those shows including the one showcasing rehabilitation products for handicapped people do not exclusively focus on generating profits， but rather focus on serving the public needs. Those topics usually are not covered by private organizers.

Secondly， as a venue， KINTEX also does its best to prevent vicious competition among the organizers. For example， KINTEX only hosts a maximum of six exhibitions on the same subject each year， and make sure the dates for those shows are not too close with one another.

Reporter： How do you expect the development of Korea exhibition industry？

Yoon： The global exhibition industry is booming now， and Korean market is of no exception. A lot of shows are being launched， which means the demand for event venue is sharply increasing. This is our opportunity. However， the government subsidy， revenue from venue rental and organization of brand shows are not sufficient to cover the expense of our operation， so we are striving hard to generate more income to keep financial balance.

Reporter： How do you think of the prospects of China-Korea exhibition industry cooperation？

Yoon： I have been to China for exhibition business for many times. In 2016， KINTEX organized Korea Pavilion in an agriculture exhibition in Shanghai. Chinese exhibition industry is very large in volume and I expect that even more shows will be organized in the future.

China and Korea are very near in geographic terms. Bilateral investment and business exchange has been increasing. So trade shows will also become a popular means for economic exchange. Trade shows not only promote domestic and international trade， but they are also the most effective method to close deals. This is my philosophy.

Reporter： Do you believe that the competition between venues is actually the competition between the cities they are in？

Yoon： I partly agree. The situation in each city is different， including hall rental rates. However， I think venues and different cities should also cooperate with one another and promote the development of the exhibition industry all together， which just fits for the nature of this industry！