The upcoming Seoul summit of the Group of 20 leading countries is expected to have a considerable impact on boosting South Korea's exhibition industry, a report said Thursday.
If South Korea successfully hosts the G-20 summit slated for Nov. 11-12, the country is expected to host more exhibitions and international conferences, helping boost tourism income and job creation, according to the report by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).
The KITA said the country is forecast to log an additional US$2.5 billion in exports, reap tourism earnings worth $46 million and see job positions increase by around 16,000.
The KITA's projection is based on an estimate that the number of international exhibitions and conferences hosted by Seoul would increase by 48 to 470 per year, with the number of foreign participants rising by 17,000 to reach 170,000.
It added that the economic benefits of the G-20 summit are expected to be larger than those from Korea's hosting of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in 2005.
The Institute for International Trade recently estimated that the effect of the G-20 summit on the South Korean economy would surpass 31 trillion won ($27.5 billion).