I, like many others, had not heard of Daegu prior to the City submitting its bid to host the 11th World Firefighters Games and initially I had reservations about whether Daegu was capable of handling the logistics involved in hosting a major international event. Any doubts I had were allayed once the Games commenced. The entire event was of a high calibre with the highlights being the Opening Ceremony and the 75 different sporting events conducted during the Games week. When I think of Daegu, I have fond memories of an intriguing and enchanting City surrounded in culture and history and its people who are friendly and eager to please and warmly welcome all visitors. The World Firefighters Games Executive made the right decision in awarding the City of Daegu the right to host the 2010 World Firefighters Games.
The Games were a resounding success and 46 countries are now better educated in relation to the existence / location of Daegu
From August 4 to 7, 2011 the 2011 IDA Congress, a mega-event in the international insurance sector, was held in Seoul, Korea. 100 Insurance companies from 17 countries attended the event with 5,492 insurance professional, 72 invited speakers, and 62 special lecturers. The Korea Tourism Organization's MICE Bureau has provided countless support the planning to the actual hosting for a duration of one year. I thank the organization for make the 2011 IDA Congress a great success and hope that it will continue their support for events in Korea
Overall I think Busan is a good conference venue, especially for marine and maritime related conferences. It is a good sized city, with lots of activity, but not too big. There are some nice attractions and interests in the area, e.g. the beaches and cultural sites. The conference center was very good, with lots of rooms of various sizes. The conference center is very well organized and accessible. There good restaurant options and variety in the conference center and nearby. There are hotels that are close by and convenient to the conference center. It was good to be able to stay in a hotel that was a short walking distance to the conference center.
My first trip to Republic of Korea was six months before the City of Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics, more than 2 decade ago. Since then, I have returned many times to Korea in my official capacity and also on personal leisure trips. Every time I returned to Korea, there is always something new things to see, something exciting to do and something unique to explore. Thus, without doubt Korea has never stopped to amaze me with its charming and friendly people, cleanliness, interesting culture & traditions and abundance of attractions. In my current capacity with ICCA, now I am able to meet even more new Korean friends and it has been a wonderful experience to work with them too. My wish is that I will continue to have the opportunity to return to Korea again and again for many years to come, especially to see other cities that I have never visited before. Amazing Korea!
