"Spending Twice as Much as General Tourists... Korea Ranks Second Globally in Hosting International Conferences"

491 International Conferences Hosted, According to UIA Statistics

Seoul Ranks Third Globally and First in Asia Among Cities

Busan and Incheon Also Climb in Global Rankings

Korea has ranked second in the world for hosting international conferences. On June 25, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that, according to the "2025 International Meetings Statistics Report" released by the Union of International Associations (UIA), Korea ranked second globally as a host country for international conferences.

Official commemorative photo of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit held at Gyeongju Hwabaek Convention Center (HICO). Photo by Yonhap News

According to the UIA, a total of 9,281 international conferences were held worldwide last year. Of these, Korea hosted 491, taking second place after the United States. This represents an increase of 148 conferences from 343 in 2024, with Korea’s ranking rising four places from sixth to second. Korea’s global market share also increased from 3.87% in 2024 to 5.29% in 2025.

By country, the United States ranked first with 665 conferences. Following Korea were Austria with 454, Japan with 424, Belgium with 416, and Spain with 412. In the Asia-Pacific region, Korea surpassed Japan to become number one.

Major Korean cities also ranked highly in the city rankings. Seoul placed third globally after Vienna and Brussels, making it the top-ranked city in Asia. Busan ranked 22nd in the world, and Incheon ranked 42nd.

The number of international conferences held outside the capital region also increased. According to the Ministry, the number of international conferences held in non-capital regions grew by 93 compared to the previous year, and the proportion of such events increased by 8.6%. The number of cities hosting at least 10 international conferences expanded from five in 2024 (Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Jeju, and Daegu) to eight in 2025, with Daejeon, Gyeongju, and Goyang added to the list.

The Ministry explained that the recovery of international conference demand, as well as proactive efforts to attract and host global events, contributed to these results. In particular, the Ministry assessed that the hosting of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit further demonstrated the competitiveness of Korea’s international conference industry.

The international conference industry is considered a high value-added sector with significant ripple effects on related industries such as accommodation, food, and shopping. According to the Ministry, based on the 2025 MICE participant survey, the average expenditure per international conference participant was 3.79 million won, roughly twice the 1.89 million won spent by general foreign visitors.

This year as well, the Ministry is investing 25.8 billion won to support customized attraction and hosting of international conferences, promote corporate meetings and incentive tourism, foster global K-conventions, and support the development of international conference complex zones.

Kang Jeongwon, policy chief at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "This achievement is the result of the government, local governments, regional convention bureaus, and the industry coming together as one," adding, "We will further enhance the competitiveness of Korea’s international conference industry to solidify the country’s position as a global powerhouse in hosting international conferences."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.