China rolls out the red carpet EXPO With a new venue and fresh look, IT&CMChina enters a growth phase...


and China is urged to do the same, reports Louis Allen, who was hosted by IT&CM China and TTG Media (Singapore)


There was a ratio of 1.2 buyers to each exhibiting company at the IT&CMChina trade showin Shanghai, an indication of the event's growing strength and sophis- tication. Airlines had a presence for the first time, the showotherwise being a mix of international destinations and Asian hotel and resort properties. Held for thefirst timeat thevastShang-


haiWorld Expo Exhibition & Convention CenterontheoldWorldExposite, thethree- day event drew 317 exhibiting companies and2,432 delegates from45 territories, plus 380internationalandlocal bodies from40 countries.Therewasamediacontingent of 72 journalists from25 countries. “We had a 1,000 buyers wanting to


come to China this year, so that gave us awide selection,”TTGAsiaMediaMan- aging DirectorDarrenNgtold journalists. The Singapore company is the organiser


develop even faster andmore sustainably. In his session, entitled China's Cen-


tury: Fulfilling its Destiny as a Mega- Meetings Destination, Sirk challenged China to look at international meetings in a newway, and to establish policies that will enable it to become one of the top global meetings destinations. He said he had first visited China in


of the event. Half of the hosted buyers were new,with 38 per cent fromthe Asia Pacific region. “Being late into theMICEmarket has


its advantages for China as it can learn.” Steps China can take to exploit its


growingimportance as a global economic powerhousewere outlined in the keynote address by ICCACEOMartin Sirk ofThe Netherlands. He outlined how interna- tional meetings offer a special chance to bring together leaders in the fields of sci- ence andtechnology, healthcare, trade and development, promoting China’s expert- ise to the rest of theworld and attracting the world’s finest thinkers to help China


1986 and could remember enormous hunger to learn. In three years' time, he predicted, China would be one of the main destinations in the world. “Fundamentally, governments mis-


understand the conference business, regarding it as a subsidiary of the tourism industry. It is not tourism– it is part of the knowledge industry.Wecan help China move up that value chain.Australian uni- versities are starting to track the value chain of meetings. “Scientific and technological advances


are driving meetings in many different ways. Health care is also a phenomenal driver of meetings. The third driving force is problems and issues –there is an


association for just about every problem on earth… conferences are a powerful tool for solving problems. “The fourth driver is business.Weare


not exploiting the full value ofmeetings, but smart destinations are starting to do this. Is it question of venue?No. There is more infrastructure than they knowwhat to dowith in Shanghai. The challenge is to achieve a strategic understanding, and to create political, academic and business linkages. “IurgeChinese organisers to tobecome


more actively involved in conferences.” As well as the exhibition, IT&CM


China is building up its education side. Features included a course on busi-


ness travelmanagement fundamentals by the Global Business Travel Association, a seminar on mobile technology and the events industry by Info Salons China and Crowdcomms of Singapore and the fundamentals of choosing aDMC, led by Site China chapter Vice-Chairman Alicia YaoHong and Uniplan ChinaManaging Director Karen Arndt. E


2012 ISSUETWO | WWW.EXECUTIVEPA.ASIA 27


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