Larger exhibition areas a priority for global competitiveness By dispensing with simple participation in overseas exhibitions, KOTRA (www.kotra .or.kr) is poised to beef up its overall overseas marketing strategy, including Korea investment inducement promotion meetings, export business talks and receptions for buyers, with priority given to overseas exhibitions from next year. Along with such marketing efforts, KOTRA Exhibition & Convention Team attempts its paradigm conversion which does overseas marketing at home. Director-General Han Jong-Woon of KOTRA's Exhibition & Convention Team, says Korea's exhibition industry can only thrive by changing established exhibition business paradigms, in an interview with The Korea IT Times on the occasion of Trade Day, pointing out that the core business of trade is the exhibition convention business. First of all, Han underscores the importance of such a packaged paradigm change to maximize KOTRA's overseas exhibition business. For this, KOTRA's Exhibition & Convention Team has selected about 10 of the most representative exhibitions, such as CES (Consumer Electronics Show) to be held in Jan. 2006 in Las Vegas and the Automechanika 2006 and CeBit, Germany. At such exhibitions, Han said that the Team will strengthen all-round oversea marketing strategy by holding packaged events one after another including Korea investment inducement explanation meetings, export business talks, and receptions for exhibition buyers to boost synergy effects, along with participating in those exhibitions. At the same time, KOTRA reorganized its current Korea exhibition portal (www.exportal.or.kr) to support Korean exhibition business circle's exhibition participation at home and abroad and the procedures for exhibition hosting. By establishing a new English Web site in addition to its existing Korean site, KOTRA Exhibition & Convention Team is planning to help participating companies at home and abroad, as well as visitors and buyers get information about exhibitions within Korea more easily. Paradigm change for globalization Secondly, the Director-General explained, "Provided we can hold internationalized exhibitions in Korea, smaller companies don't need to go abroad, thus eliminating a waste of time and money." In that respect, KOTRA's Exhibition & Convention Team is attempting an overseas marketing paradigm change as the team strives to attract exhibition visitors and buyers into Korea first of all rather than going abroad. As part of such programs, KOTRA is planning to support overseas marketing actively through common hosting of special exhibitions which are held at home. Han explains that domestic special exhibition support projects will cover about 15 representative exhibitions by industry, such as KES (Korea Electronics Show), Korea Machinery Fair and Preview in Daegu (PID textile exhibition). Through overseas marketing support by common hosting of special exhibitions at home, KOTRA expects to be able to attract 5,000 buyers per year. Alongside of this, Han notes that KOTRA will boost its efforts to attract foreign participating companies, as well as buyers, and propel strategic tie-ups with renowned exhibition promoters globally to nurture KOTRA supervision's Food Korea 2006 as a food-associated representative exhibition of Northeast Asia. Large-sized exhibition space needed As to trends in the current domestic exhibition industry, Han pinpoints that domestic exhibition halls are popping up like so many mushrooms after rain. In this context, he advises it is desirable for KOTRA to lead the development of the entire Korean exhibition industry as a great hub, adding that the Korean exhibition industry has to cope with the reality that China is developing very fast in the country's exhibition industry. The Director-General particularly mentioned the importance of large size exhibition halls, pointing out that an international scale exhibition must be a minimum 50,000 square meters. He once again stressed that related exhibition business circles have to concentrate their efforts on becoming large-sized, explaining that BEXCO and COEX are no more than 33,183 square meters and 36,027 square meters respectively.