Interview with Mr Cheng Lang from redcap MICE

On a warm June afternoon we sat down for an interview with the director of the meeting and event division of redcap MICE tour, Mr. Cheng Lang. He kindly answered our questions about the future of tourism, MICE and redcap’s business know-how.

A little bit about redcap tour MICE division

• In 2006 redcap tour established a MICE team within the company
• Professional Convention Organizer: expansion of the areas of activities such as outbound and inbound travel incentive conventions, symposiums and so on
• With the expansion in the MICE sector redcap tour established partnership with American Express Global Business Travel (AMEX GBT)

Interview

With Mr Cheng Lang, Director of Meeting and Event

What do you do as a Director?

I manage colloquiums, conferences, symposiums, mainly in the medical field. Additionally, I manage various events for domestic companies such as LG Electrics.

What is the difference between redcap tour and other travel agencies?

I think the difference is that, while other companies offer more business to consumer-oriented services, redcap tour’s primary focus is on business to business travel services. In addition we have a joint contract with AMEX Global, in result of which companies in South Korea that have global contracts with AMEX work with redcap tour.

In recent years the market for package tourism has been on a decline, how does that affect redcap tour?

There is a decline in the market for packaged tours, indeed. However as we mentioned earlier redcap’s primary business is within the business to business travel, so there wasn’t a huge damage. Rather than that there were staff members transferring from that department to other sections within the company.
In the future, instead of package tours it will be self-guided tourism that will continue to grow, so we plan to offer packages more as a premium service.

Nowadays consumer’s needs constantly change, how does redcap identify and meet their expectations?

We have a Customer service evaluation team, which is tasked with assessing customer’s satisfaction using various methods – like phone interviews, surveys, etc. Periodically teams that have great results receive rewards as a way to motivate better services for our clients.
Also, redcap tour wants our clients to have the best experience for their money, even when they are on the same trip.

What is changing in the field of tourism in relation to the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

Platform marketing will basically become the most important in my opinion. Truthfully travel agencies already use platform marketing, but it is questionable if it’s used in a very efficient way.
Redcap tour is working on building a system called PI system, the group as a whole invested 13 billion won (approx. 11 million USD)in the development. It is now about 70% underway and is expected to be completed as early as the end of this month (June).
Starting with the payment system, the company is going through a process to streamline and efficiently proceed all work processes such as ordering and requests.

It seems like redcap tour itself is a company that excels in change. What is the atmosphere in the company?

This question is for the employees to answer, but the way I see it, the staff at our headquarters still have a conservative side, because of the traditional conventions and code they keep. However, what we are trying to do is to keep with the things that are sufficient, to accept many things, to move forward flexibly, and to always challenge new things.
Our MICE division, meanwhile, has a bit more free side. For an example on weekends when there is an event I would wear formal attire, of course, but as you can see, I usually work in relatively free clothing.

Lastly, what advice would you give to students who would like to become a part of redcap?

In tourism in general, but especially in MICE language skills are the basis. Nowadays if you lack language skills it is very difficult to work in the MICE field. Other than that, relevant experience is much more important than having a license or certification. The experience of running around, sweating and learning anything on site is important.

When I am interviewing I also pay a lot of attention to the candidate’s values. I pay attention to their reasoning of why they have to do this job, what are their goals in life, and what they dream of. Also, I like people who can give love. The type of person who wants to help whomever they can while working, I want people that will give each other strength.

With such positive words our interview ended and I was left thinking how we all want people like that – those who want to be helpful seem to always be in shortage. It’s really an understandable way of thinking too – tourism may be a business, but it is about people, so the people in it are important. Whether it is MICE or self-guided tour, or anything in between, what makes an experience positive or negative correlates a lot with the people involved.

Korea MICE Expo 2019

This year at Korea MICE Expo.

Korea MICE Expo 2019 took place at The Songdo Convensia Convention Center.

From June 12th to June 14th local organizations and venues presented to visitors from all over the world some of the charms and characteristics of the regions of Korea. Every booth had a different feel to it, similarly to how every city of Korea is different and unique in its own way.

There were many events and souvenirs to take home as well as a lot of information on different venues and tourist sites all around the country as well as different incentive packages provided by MICE partners.

This year was the 20th KME, so there were a lot of special events and guests.

The event was organized with great attention to details and offered a sneak peak of what Korea has to offer to MICE tourists.

Garak Mall Tour

This spring, after passing by, but never going in and exploring it, I visited the Garak mall for a first time.
As part of GSM2019 ” Five Senses Seoul Food Trip” program, me and around 30 lucky Seoul Mates got to participate in a cooking class, followed by a tour of the market. The cooking class was an interesting experience, but what was really exciting for me was being able to see the part of the market that is not open for public. In the wearhouses there was tons of tons of produce that will be distributed towards retailers, who will then sell it to the final consumer. Meanwhile the wearhouse will be restocked for the next day. The process is so complicated and yet so organized, that I fell in awe with the way it all goes down. I also had the feeling like all of the food in Seoul passes through this place. I know that it is an exaggeration, but it was a fascinating experience.
For the regular visitor of Garak market there is still a lot to see – if you are a seafood lover, Garak market is one of the places in Seoul where you can pick your own fresh fish or seafood and have it prepared for you in a traditional style in the restaurant area (located on the 3rd floor). For everyone else – there’s fresh vegetables and fruits area as well as organic area, imported foods area and fresh meat area. Personally I like this organization, because if you are a vegetarian, vegan or have other food restrictions you can avoid those foods altogether by only focusing on the areas of interest for you. The market is well organized and mapped out so if you visit i recommend taking a screen shot of the map near the entrance and using it as a guidance.

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Seoul MICE 2019 Future talents Launching Party at Baesan (Seongsu-dong)

When I was informed that the launching party for Seoul MICE reporters and interns program “Future Talents” this year will take place in Seongsu-dong I was excited. Not only because the place is at a walking distance from where I live, but also because the neighborhood is one of the more interesting areas of Seoul.

 

Dubbed by some as the “Brooklyn of Seoul” Seoungsu-dong used to be a factory area. And a lot like New York’s famous culture neighborhood, Seongsu is nowadays becoming a place of art, cafés and rejuvenation. With many former factory buildings becoming interesting and unique coffee shops the area is becoming a new trendy spot in the city that never stops it’s development.

Seongsu’s coffee shops all give their own unique vibe as opposed to the coffee chains that reign in the rest of the city. One such place is Baesan. Baesan is more than a coffee shop – it’s a place where artists can exhibit their work and people can enjoy it while having a cup of coffee.

Meanwhile the 2nd floor is used as a rather unusual, but very artistic event hall. That was where the MICE Future talents opening ceremony took place. The Seoul MICE Supporters team that was responsible for organizing the event had taken a really good advantage of the area and prepared some interesting mission settings, so while the team building exercises were being prepared I took time to appreciate their creativity.