Seoul Tourism Organization

Name

Seoul Tourism Organization

Legal name

서울관광재단 (Seoul Tourism Organization)

Website

https://sto.or.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Mapo

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Seoul Tourism Organization is a public foundation funded by Seoul Metropolitan Government to promote tourism in Seoul.
2. Facility Rental: Revenue from renting out Seoul Tourism Plaza facilities including multi-purpose hall, citizen academy, and production studios to tourism industry professionals and organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Seoul Tourism Organization is a public foundation that promotes Seoul as a tourism destination and supports the city's tourism industry. It operates Seoul Tourism Plaza as a central visitor, information and content-production hub, runs the Visit Seoul digital platform across 10 global social media channels, and delivers specialized service lines including Seoul MICE (convention bureau and industry alliance), Seoul Medical Tourism (multilingual help desk and healthcare partner network), Seoul Arts Tourism Alliance (SATA), the Seoul Danurim accessible transportation service, the Seoul Culture Lounge cultural experience space, and the Seoul My Soul Shop retail outlet.

Product overview

Seoul Tourism Organization operates as a public tourism promotion foundation offering a multi-faceted portfolio of services and facilities rather than a unified software product. Its core offering centers on Seoul Tourism Plaza, a multi-floor complex providing tourist information (1F), event venues and citizen academy (4F), MICE business support (7F), co-working spaces for tourism startups (9-10F), broadcast-quality production studios and Korean culture experiences (11F). Key service sub-brands include Visit Seoul (digital tourism platform across 10 global SNS channels with 130+ Global Seoul Mate ambassadors), Seoul Medical Tourism (multilingual medical concierge and wellness content), Seoul MICE (convention bureau with 122+ SMA member organizations), Seoul Arts Tourism Alliance (arts-tourism content development), Seoul Danurim Vehicle (accessible transportation for disabled/elderly visitors), and Seoul My Soul Shop (official souvenir retail). The organization also produces annual festivals like Seoul Lantern Festival and partners with K-pop ambassadors including BTS for global marketing campaigns.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Seoul Tourism Plaza: Tourism hub facility providing tourism information, experience programs, and support for tourism industry networking, located at 1F, 4-11F of the organization
• Visit Seoul
• Seoul Medical Tourism
• Seoul Convention Bureau (MICE Seoul)
• Seoul Culture Lounge
• Seoul My Soul Shop
• Seoul Dansim (Seoul Danurim)
• Seoul Arts Tourism Alliance (SATA)
• Seoul MICE Alliance (SMA)
• Global Seoul Mate

Products and services

• Seoul Tourism Plaza (서울관광플라자) A multi-floor tourism hub in central Seoul (Floors 1, 4, 7-11) offering tourist information, event venues, co-working spaces for tourism startups, production studios, and Korean cultural experiences for both visitors and tourism industry professionals.
• Seoul MICE (서울 MICE) MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions) industry support including convention bureau services, Seoul MICE Alliance (SMA) network, human resource development, incentive and venue support, and international event promotion.
• Seoul Medical Tourism (서울의료관광) Medical tourism promotion service offering multilingual help desk, interpretation coordination, pickup/sending support, wellness content development, and a network of partner medical institutions for international medical tourists.
• Human Rights Management (인권경영) Organization-wide human rights management program covering all stakeholders including employees, partner companies, citizens, and tourists, addressing non-discrimination, workplace safety, and rights protection.

Quantifiable outcome

• Seoul Tourism Food Festival attracted 70,000 visitors

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Good Medical KoreaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Medical tourism service provider. CEO Kim Do-Gyun serves as speaker at Seoul Medical Tourism Cooperative Institution Knowledge Sharing Seminar on understanding global medical tourists and service capability enhancement.
• GKL Social Contribution FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Public interest foundation funded by Grand Korea Leisure (100% subsidiary). Conducts volunteer-tourism (VolunTour) programs combining community service with tourism experiences for tourism industry workers and students.
• Arts Management Support CenterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Conducts arts industry financial support pilot project including financial education and 1:1 consulting on loans and guarantees for arts enterprises and arts sector professionals.
• Seoul MICE Alliance (SMA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025Public-private cooperation body for Seoul's MICE industry development. Operates joint cooperation projects for MICE attraction, organizes networking workshops, leader roundtables, and business matchmaking events. Members receive 90% facility rental discount at Seoul Tourism Plaza.
• Seoul Arts Tourism Alliance (SATA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025Public-private partnership connecting Seoul's artistic resources with tourism industry. Expanded from 83 member companies in July 2025 to 122 members in 2026. Focuses on developing art tourism content and products for international tourists, organizing fam tours and promotional marketing.
• Seoul Tourism & MICE Enterprise Support CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2019Opened June 2019 at Seoul Tourism Plaza 7F. Provides free professional consulting in HR/labor, accounting/tax, management/legal for Seoul-based tourism and MICE companies. Offers up to 8 free psychological counseling sessions per year for tourism and MICE workers.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Brand USA: Public-private partnership DMO for the United States running global destination marketing. Comparable to STO in public-mandate structure and international campaign execution, though at much larger scale.
• Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau: Municipal DMO for Tokyo that performs the same role STO plays for Seoul: destination marketing, MICE attraction, cultural tourism, and visitor information services. Closest functional peer given the parallel city-level mandate and capital-city tourism positioning.
• Tourism Authority of Thailand: National tourism organization for Thailand running destination marketing, MICE promotion, and tourism product development across multiple destinations. Comparable to STO at national scale but operating with similar mandate structure and government backing.
• NYC & Company: Official DMO for New York City that operates destination marketing, MICE convention bureau, and global tourism campaigns. Closest US peer to STO given city-level mandate, MICE convention bureau function, and global marketing operations.
• Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board: Nonprofit DMO for Los Angeles that runs destination marketing and convention bureau functions. Structurally comparable to STO as a municipal-level destination marketing nonprofit with MICE convention bureau operations.
• Singapore Tourism Board: Statutory board under Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry that runs destination marketing, MICE bid attraction, and content campaigns — directly comparable to STO's mandate, especially given Singapore's similar reliance on global tourism and MICE as economic drivers.
• VisitBritain: National tourism agency for the UK that operates inbound marketing campaigns, MICE support, and trade engagement. Comparable organizational model and mandate, though at country rather than city level.
• Hong Kong Tourism Board: Government-subvented DMO for Hong Kong operating global marketing, MICE support, and cruise tourism development. Highly comparable to STO in scale, scope, and Asia-Pacific city-level destination positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO): National DMO for Japan that complements prefectural/city DMOs (like Tokyo CVB). Comparable to STO at the national DMO layer, with overlap in international marketing and MICE bid activity that indirectly competes for the same Seoul–Tokyo inbound segments.
• Korea Tourism Organization (KTO): South Korea's national DMO with overlapping functions in international marketing, MICE attraction, and medical tourism coordination. KTO operates at national scope while STO focuses on Seoul, making KTO both a coordinator and a partial competitor for the same Seoul inbound audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCSPssxnqHu3LNG5IFcCPWCg
• Facebookfacebook.com/SeoulTourismOrganization
• Instagraminstagram.com/sto___official
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/seoul-tourism-organization

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Seoul Tourism Organization