A Study on the Attractiveness of Hybrid Trade Exhibitions: Focused on the MICE Industry in Non-Metropolitan Areas

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to confirm the attractiveness and performance of hybrid trade exhibitions for participants in the hybrid trade exhibition held in Changwony, Gyeongnam in Korea, a region with poor transportation accessibility, in order to revitalize the MICE industry in non-metropolitan areas. Design/Methodology - As a result of SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 23.0 program analysis, first, the attractiveness of hybrid trade exhibitions was divided into efficiency and realism. Second, the attractiveness(efficiency) of hybrid trade exhibitions had a positive relationship with performance, so Hypothesis 1 was adopted. Second, the attractiveness (realism) of hybrid trade exhibitions had a positive relationship with performance, so Hypothesis 2 was adopted. Findings - Recently, the MICE industry is changing its name to “business event” as the importance of forms such as trade exhibitions has increased. The MICE industry in non- metropolitan areas was identified as having limitations in operating through existing trade exhibition channels due to limitations in transportation accessibility. The MICE industry in non-metropolitan areas such as Changwon City needs future-oriented preparation. However, as a result of previous research, participants preferred hybrid channels in the form of face-to- face and non-face-to-face, and the organizers recognized the importance of hybrid channels, but confirmed the opinion that securing a business model was realistically difficult. Originality/value - As of 2021, the MICE industry in Changwon city, Gyeongnam, South Korea, is experiencing ongoing difficulties, ranking 13th out of 16 cities and provinces nationwide due to fierce competition with nearby areas such as Busan, Daegu, and Ulsan, which have smooth transportation accessibility. Through this study, we sought to investigate the attractiveness of Changwon’s hybrid trade exhibition that can overcome the problem of accessibility, a chronic problem in the MICE industry in Changwon, Gyeongnam. Through this study, we sought to investigate the attractiveness of Changwon’s hybrid trade exhibition that can overcome the problem of accessibility, a chronic problem in the MICE industry in Changwon, Gyeongnam. As a result of the study, the attractiveness of the hybrid trade exhibition in Changwon, Gyeongnam, was confirmed to be efficiency and realism, and results such as repeat visits and recommendations to nearby areas were derived. For the development of the MICE industry in Changwon, Gyeongnam, we suggest that it is urgent to secure professional manpower, technical cooperation, policy development, and business models to operate hybrid trade exhibitions.