Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) today announced that the First Action Forum of the Future Convention Cities Initiative (FCCI) held in Seoul from March 20^th – 22^nd had achieved its goals of bringing all of the FCCI members together for the first time, agreeing on a program of strategic research, exchanging knowledge around key priorities for member cities and sharing expertise with leaders in national and local government and the Korean meetings industry.

FCCI is a global strategic research and knowledge exchange partnership of the convention bureaus of seven leading cities in the global conventions industry – Abu Dhabi, Durban KwaZulu Natal, London, San Francisco, Seoul, Sydney and Toronto. FCCI is co-ordinated by Fast Future Research – authors of the Convention 2020 study on the future of the meetings industry.

The event included meetings and functions with Mr. Choung, Byoung-gug, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hon. Oh Se-Hoon, Mayor of Seoul, Dr. Kyung-won Chung, Deputy Vice-Mayor of Seoul and Mr. Charm Lee, CEO of Korea Tourism Organization. The participants also delivered seminars for the leaders of the Korean meetings industry and conducted private FCCI working sessions. Rohit Talwar - the Executive Director of FCCI and CEO of Fast Future - said “I congratulate STO on putting together an exceptional event which met all of our objectives, demonstrated the talent and capabilities of the Korean meetings industry, highlighted the range and quality of meetings facilities in Seoul and showcased Korea’s world class hospitality standards.”

Samuel Koo, President and CEO of Seoul Tourism Organization said “We were delighted when our partners in FCCI accepted our invitation to come and dedicate two full days to work together on the FCCI agenda and share their knowledge and experience with leaders in national and local government and in the meetings industry. We knew a lot could be achieved but the outcomes and the strength of our partners’ positive reactions surpassed everyone’s expectations.”

Koo went on to say “I think we made tremendous progress in sharing practical insights, and initiating a research agenda for studies that will provide genuine competitive advantage to FCCI members and benefit the meetings industry as a whole.  For STO the learning experience was also tremendous, we gathered research insights, practical experience and ideas that would have taken years to accumulate and which will help guide and accelerate our development.”

Gillian M. Taylor - Business Tourism Manager - Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority said “In Abu Dhabi we pride ourselves in the speed with which we have developed our meetings but we are truly amazed at just how much Seoul has achieved in the few short years since it entered into the global conventions industry.”

James Seymour – CEO - Durban KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau said “As a very new convention bureau, we are keen to learn from everyone. What we learnt about how Seoul goes out of its way to make you feel welcome has really inspired me.”

Tracy Halliwell – Director of Business Tourism - Visit London said “What struck me most was the attention to detail in every aspect of the event and the meticulous planning that ensured we made full use of every minute of the time we spent in Seoul.”

Tom Kiely - Vice President, Tourism Development - San Francisco Travel Association said “I always look at cities from a convention delegate’s perspective. I was really impressed by the quality, authenticity and efficiency of the welcome we received from arrival at the airport onwards – we could learn a lot from how Seoul does this.”

Lyn Lewis-Smith – Chief Operating Officer - Business Events Sydney said “I was amazed by the size and seniority of the audience who attended our seminars with the Korean MICE Association and by the level of interest the participants showed in what we had to share.”

Tara Gordon - Vice President, Meeting & Convention Sales – Tourism Toronto said “I came with high expectations of Seoul and these were genuinely exceeded. Seoul’s emergence as a leading business events and meetings destination can be attributed to the tremendous synergy amongst the Seoul MICE community and the commitment to innovation within our industry.”  

Rohit Talwar said “The Forum has really helped accelerate the FCCI research program and highlighted how much we can achieve by working together in a focused and intensive manner.”