Seoul Wins Bid for 2016 International Photography Congress

Seoul recently secured the winning bid to host the 33rd Federation Internationale de l’Art Photographique (FIAP) Congress, which in 2016 will bring to the city 800 of the world’s top photographers from 60 countries, and provide them with a golden opportunity to show the world both Seoul and Korea at its best. During the event, scheduled to take place from August 22-28, 2016, participants will be able to network, exchange industry information, and explore Seoul’s top sites with their cameras.

FIAP, also known in English as the International Federation of Photographic Art, is the only photographic society to be officially recognized by UNESCO. Its membership includes over one million persons affiliated with FIAP-approved branches and associations. Congresses are held every two years in rotation.

Event organizer and FIAP member the Photo Artists Society of Korea received assistance for its winning bid from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which provided the services of its Seoul Convention Bureau (SCB) bidding clinic, such as consultation on bid strategies, presentation workshops, and assistance with proposal development. Praising the SCB’s efforts, the society’s FIAP Liaison Officer Jun Shil Keun said, “The presentation that the Seoul Convention Bureau helped us create for our bid proposal was absolutely perfect and was received with thunderous applause by all the members of the judging panel, and we were complimented on its content.”

                                               
Planned tour destinations in Seoul for the congress participants in 2016 currently include Sungnyemun Gate, royal palaces Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, and Deoksugung, as well as the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Samsung d’light, and the Jongmyo Shrine. They will also visit the Korean Demilitarized Zone, Andong Hahoe Village, and Gyeongju, with many of the selected locations both in and out of Seoul UNESCO World Heritage sites. The congress itself will be held at the Grand Ambassador Seoul.

The week-long event is expected to generate an estimated KRW 4.5bn (US $ 4.5m) in tourism revenue for Korea, and create up to KRW 10bn (US $9.7m) in added value for the regional economies hosting the participants, according to a release by the Photo Artists Society of Korea.

The bidding clinic of the Seoul Convention Bureau has been instrumental in securing many large international congresses for Seoul. Earlier this year, the Korean Physical Society also sought the help of the Seoul Convention Bureau bidding clinic before securing the bid for the 2018 International Conference on High Energy Physics, which is expected to bring over 1,200 international attendees for its eight-day event.