Explore Seoul with Connections marks fifth edition with a journey through skyline, craft and cultural heritage
Held from 7–10 June 2026, Explore Seoul with Connections returned for its fifth edition, bringing together 62 senior luxury travel professionals for three days of curated meetings, destination discovery and meaningful connections.
With 11 nationalities represented, 620 pre-scheduled one-to-one meetings and 14 in-destination experiences, the event introduced an invitation-only community of luxury travel buyers and suppliers to the many dimensions of the South Korean capital.
Hosted in partnership with Seoul Metropolitan Government, the programme was shaped around Seoul’s defining contrasts. Across the three days, guests moved between landmark hotels, elevated city views, contemporary hospitality and traditional hanoks, experiencing a destination where innovation and heritage do not compete, but quietly sharpen one another.
For luxury travel advisors, Seoul offers a story with unusual range. It is a city of design, beauty, gastronomy and cultural depth, but also one of rhythm and surprise, where a morning above the skyline can lead into an afternoon of calligraphy, craft or Korean architecture.
The result was an edition that showed Seoul not as a single luxury proposition, but as a destination of layers: polished, creative, historic, sensory and deeply contemporary.
Seoul, a story contrasting skyline and tradition
The event opened at Latitude32 bar at Sofitel Ambassador Seoul Hotel & Serviced Residences, where guests gathered above the city for a welcome reception and a first introduction to Seoul’s modern skyline.
Monday’s programme took place at Signiel Seoul, high within Lotte World Tower. The setting offered a striking expression of contemporary Seoul, pairing panoramic views with a full day of curated business meetings and cultural encounters.
Throughout the day, Korean artistry and ritual were brought into the meeting programme. Guests explored the colour and symbolism of dancheong and Korean calligraphy, alongside traditional jewellery styling, hangwa confectionery, perilla oil, bojagi wrapping and Korean traditional liquor.
Encounters with Korean craftspeople introduced woodwork, miniature kkotsin shoemaking and mosi broom making, while a Signiel Seoul suite experience offered a contemporary counterpoint, revealing the city from one of its most recognisable luxury addresses.
That evening, JW Marriott Hotel Seoul welcomed the Connections community for a dinner that allowed the conversations of the day to continue in a more relaxed setting. Its warm hospitality and considered service created an elegant close to the first full day, reflecting Seoul’s ability to host international luxury travellers with both polish and generosity.
On Tuesday, the programme moved to The Shilla Seoul, where meetings and lunch were held at Yeong Bin Gwan. The hotel’s traditional cultural venue brought a distinctly Korean sense of place to the final business sessions, providing a natural bridge between Seoul’s international hospitality and its architectural heritage.
From there, buyers and suppliers travelled to Bukchon Hanok Village for an afternoon across four private cultural spaces. At Nostalgia, guests experienced a makgeolli tasting with Korean snack pairings; at Hwigyeomjae, they explored the principles and character of traditional Korean architecture; and at Jiwooheon Gallery, they were invited into a private art encounter with ceramic artist Huh Sangwook. A Korean tea tasting at Bukchon Lounge completed the programme.
The transition from tower to hanok captured the spirit of the edition. It revealed a quieter and more intimate Seoul, shaped by craft, ceremony, architecture and the lived heritage of one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods.
The event closed at Samwon Garden with a traditional Korean BBQ, featuring the prestigious Hanwoo Korean Beef, bringing the community together for a final evening centred on food, hospitality and shared experience.
A fifth edition with Seoul at its heart
This year’s Explore Seoul with Connections showed how destination discovery can deepen luxury travel relationships. Rather than treating meetings and experiences as separate parts of the programme, both were woven into the same journey, allowing conversations to develop through a richer understanding of the city itself.
From Sofitel Ambassador Seoul and Signiel Seoul to JW Marriott Hotel Seoul, The Shilla Seoul, Bukchon Hanok Village and Samwon Garden, each setting revealed a different expression of the capital. Together, they presented Seoul as a destination capable of hosting the global luxury travel community with sophistication, creativity and cultural depth.
Industry perspective
Clive Jacobs, Founder of Connections Luxury, and Executive Chairman of Jacobs Media and Tully Luxury Travel, commented:
“Seoul has a rare ability to feel both forward-looking and deeply rooted. That is what made this edition so powerful. Over the course of the programme, our community experienced the city from above, through its hotels, its food, its craft and inside its hanoks.
“For luxury travel, that first-hand understanding matters. Buyers need to experience the texture of a destination before they can confidently shape it for their clients. Explore Seoul with Connections gave them that insight, while also creating the relationships that help turn interest into future business.
“This fifth edition showed exactly why Seoul continues to be such an important destination for our Explore series.”
Kim Myong Joo, Director General of Tourism & Sports Bureau at Seoul Metropolitan Government, commented:
“Seoul is a city of many layers, where heritage, creativity, hospitality and contemporary culture sit side by side. Through Explore Seoul with Connections, we were pleased to welcome an international luxury travel community and share the experiences, venues and stories that make the city so distinctive.
“The event provided an important opportunity to strengthen Seoul’s connection with the global luxury travel trade and showcase the depth of experience available to high-value travellers.”
2026 by the numbers
62 luxury travel professionals
620 pre-scheduled one-to-one meetings
11 nationalities represented
14 in-destination experiences
Explore Seoul with Connections was hosted in partnership with Seoul Metropolitan Government, with the support of Signiel Seoul, Sofitel Ambassador Seoul Hotel & Serviced Residences, JW Marriott Hotel Seoul, The Shilla Seoul, Nostalgia Hanok Hotel, Hwigyeomjae, Hanwoo Korean Beef, Samwon Garden, Josun Palace, The Hanok Village, Travel Different, Busan Tourism Organisation, Gangwon Tourism Organisation and Songpa-gu.
Notes to editors
About Connections Luxury
Connections Luxury is a global community for senior decision-makers in luxury travel and hospitality. Across its events worldwide, Connections Luxury brings together leading buyers, suppliers and destination partners through carefully curated meetings, shared experiences and meaningful conversation. Its community includes more than 3,000 luxury travel professionals, representing over US$7.8 billion in annual travel spend. Over the past 12 years, Connections has delivered more than 100 events across 38 destinations.
About Seoul Metropolitan Government
Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) is the official body responsible for promoting Seoul as a leading global destination. Its Seoul My Soul campaign is the city's dedicated platform for positioning Seoul among the world's top cities, connecting international visitors and travel professionals with the people, places and experiences that make Seoul unlike anywhere else in the world.
For more information, visit connectionsluxury.com/events or contact enquiries@weareconnections.com