New leadership at Seoul Tourism Organization

Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) named Sung-Real Lee CEO and President on July 2, 2012.

Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) named Sung-Real Lee CEO and President on July 2, 2012. Under the new leadership, STO looks to boost its profile as a tourism destination and increase its competitiveness in the international meetings industry.

One of CEO Leeโ€™s key tasks will be to help expand the accommodation infrastructure in Seoul, โ€œAs the city is set to host a record number of 10 million international visitors this year, it is essential for Seoul to continue expanding the number of hotel rooms in the city โ€“ especially those that are specifically geared towards accommodating international visitors,โ€ said STOโ€™s CEO Sung-Real Lee.

At his opening speech for the 3rd annual Seoul MICE Forum, Lee also stressed the importance of furthering Seoulโ€™s meetings industry, โ€œThe meetings industry is a key service industry that will lead the way in the knowledge-oriented economy of the future. Seoul and Korea are not alone in this belief – all major cities and countries of the world are currently engaged in an intense battle to increase their competitiveness by investing in the meetings industry.โ€

Lee enters STO after over 30 years in the private sector, during which he served as the head of key finance and project development divisions in the Hyundai Group.

The Seoul Convention Bureau (SCB), a division of the Seoul Tourism Organization, is the official government-sponsored body representing and promoting the city overseas as a prime venue for meetings, conventions and exhibitions. The SCB is in charge of international marketing and public relations for Seoul as a convention city. The Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) is a joint venture launched by the city and private enterprises in February 2008 with a core mission to promote Seoul as a convention and tourism destination.

According to the most recent sets of UIA data, Seoul was ranked 5th in the world for number of international conferences hosted in 2010 and 2011.

The Seoul Tourism Organization is a member of the International Council of Tourism Partners (ICTP), a fast-growing grassroots travel and tourism coalition of global destinations committed to quality service and green growth.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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