The successful hosting of the Olympic Games will seal China’s reputation as a hot spot, but the missing link, according to the industry, is a national convention bureau
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“It has been demonstrated over the past 25 years that a well-run national CVB has had a direct and positive impact on MICE.”
Mr Cary Gray
St Regis Beijing general manager
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A recent PATA report, Realising China’s Tourism Potential, Recommendations for Future Development, presents a road map for the growth and management of China’s US$100 billion industry.
The report focuses on six key market segments: meetings and conventions; incentive travel; cruising; red tourism; green tourism; and health and wellness tourism.
For the meeting segment, PATA has recommended the setting up of a national convention and visitors bureau (CVB), the further development of purpose-built facilities, the training of certified professional staff and increased regional co-operation.
A TTGmice straw poll shows China’s MICE industry backing this call.
China National Convention Center (CNCC) director of business development, Mr Tony Xu, said: “It’s a must. In addition to marketing, we need a national CVB to develop a sustainable development plan for the whole country by offering RFP support, education, technical assistance and conducting research and analysis.
“The Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau is the best example in Asia-Pacific. And the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau helped Bangkok jump from 20th spot in 2006 to 14th in 2007 in the ICCA rankings.”
Mr Xu added the lack of city-level convention bureaus, world-class facilities, and good PCOs and DMCs were other factors working against China.
St Regis Beijing general manager, Mr Cary Gray, said: “It has been demonstrated over the past 25 years that a well-run national CVB has had a direct and positive impact on MICE.
“The Shanghai and Beijing tourism bureaus have been instrumental in the explosive growth in these cities over the past eight years. By co-ordinating and supporting these regional efforts, a national CVB can be instrumental in showcasing China’s MICE potential.”
But Shangri-La Hotel Guangzhou general manager, Mr Reto Klauser, said the answer would probably vary according to destination. “China is big and diverse. Guangzhou has excellent exhibition facilities and infrastructure. But to become a recognised MICE destination, we must develop adjacent world-class convention facilities managed by an international operator and supported by a provincial CVB that reports to a national CVB.”
Shanghai shines
Shanghai stands out, thanks to official backing, and the city is taking serious steps to boost MICE with greater focus on incentive travel, new infrastructure and a 10,000-capacity venue on the cards.
The Shanghai Municipal Tourism Association (SMTA), together with the industry, is taking on the role of developing infrastructure and the industry.
Shanghai has enjoyed strong growth in international arrivals. In 2007, visitors topped 6.66 million, a 9.9 per cent increase over 2006. This year, the city expects to receive seven million arrivals. On average, travellers stayed 3.7 days and spent US$898.5 per visit last year, a 6.9 per cent increase over the previous year.
Although MICE has been identified as part of the tourism market, there is no MICE data available and SMTA is taking steps to monitor developments.
SMTA secretary-general, Mr Huang Guang Rong, said: “In recent years, the term MICE has become increasingly familiar and widely accepted by China’s travel industry. The industry’s rapid development and the increasing clarity of relevant travel policies will result in new development opportunities for incentive travel in Shanghai.”
Although Shanghai tourism has developed rapidly, Mr Huang said it still paled in comparison to other world-class destinations and one of the goals for the next two years was to push the building of infrastructure to make Shanghai a world-class MICE destination.
Following the recent opening of the Shanghai International Convention Center, with a maximum capacity for 5,000 people, the city will build another meeting facility for 10,000 people by 2010, according to MP International China CEO, Ms Sylvia Phua.
And the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 will give certainly give the city a MICE boost. Of course Beijing will be the biggest MICE beneficiary thanks to the Olympic Games. But China will need to sustain the momentum, whether through a national CVB or other means. With 24,000m2 of space to fill when it officially opens in July 2009, CNCC has taken on the role as Beijing’s de facto CVB, responsible for bidding for conventions.
CNCC’s Mr Xu said: “The Beijing Tourism Association (BTA) has a division responsible for incentives and meetings. However, it does not act as a CVB in getting the convention centres, hotels and airlines together to develop a collective proposal to bid for major events. We have to take the initiative to attract business for our venue and will be working very closely with BTA.”
For now, and until the China National Tourism Administration develops a national CVB, Mr Xu said each city or province would have to pull its own weight.
“We need a national CVB because some industry players, such as airlines, will not work with city-level CVBs. Ideally China’s future national CVB should be an alliance of airlines, hotels and venues. DMCs can also be included, but we don’t have sufficient good ones,” he added.
To showcase Beijing and CNCC’s capabilities, the team is exhibiting at international trade shows, working with international media and attending conferences, such as the AIPC (International Association of Congress Centres) Annual Conference held in Singapore in July.
Mr Xu said: “We are approaching hotels around the venue to negotiate for rooms, recommending pre- and post-show itineraries, and advising clients on what to look out for when holding an event in Beijing. For instance, we tell clients to hold conferences in June to tap the available pool of students as temporary staff as they would have completed their exams.”
Only a few established DMCs in Beijing have international offices, and they will not be able to handle several big conferences at the same time unless they expand, according to Mr Xu.
“We are encouraging the government to attract international PCOs and PEOs to Beijing and one way is to offer preferential tax policies. There is also a Cultural and Creative Industry Fund that supports companies involved in tourism including MICE, museum and cultural activities and show business. Some RMB500 million (US$73 million) has been set aside for this scheme and approved events will receive government support, subject to fulfilment of criteria.”
Regardless of whether or not China sets up a national CVB, MCI Asia Pacific president and Institutional Division CEO, Mr Robin Lokerman, said the most pressing need was to have more, well-trained English-speaking staff.
“The Chinese authorities must invest in more MICE training and encourage staff to participate in international certification programmes,” he stressed. – Reporting by Karen Yue, Mimi Hudoyo, Jane Ram and Sherisse Pham
 CNCC: Beijing’s leading light
The China National Convention Center (CNCC) is now known as the International Broadcast Center and is the official media nerve centre for the Beijing Olympics.
It will be renamed CNCC after the Games and will become Beijing’s leading hi-tech convention centre and the first purpose-built convention centre in China.
It has a 24,000m2 pillar-free hall that can accommodate 6,000 people theatre-style, 90 breakout rooms and a shopping mall in its basement. CNCC will run its own inhouse catering service and several food outlets – features that are lacking in the other centres in Beijing.
A subway station, Olympic Green North, in the basement of the venue will take delegates into the city centre and airport. Two hotels connected to CNCC via sheltered walkways will provide almost 800 rooms. One with 443 rooms will be managed by CNCC and the other with 335 rooms will be managed by InterContinental Hotels Group.
Clients of CNCC will have priority to book rooms at its hotel.
There are some 5,000 rooms and serviced residences within a one-kilometre range of CNCC.
CNCC is fully booked from July to November 2009, and a few other conferences have confirmed for 2010. All are international events. The biggest conference the venue will host is a medical congress for 18,000 delegates in 2010. Another medical conference for 25,000 delegates is being negotiated. CNCC has an international management team and sends its local management staff overseas, to Hawaii and San Francisco for example, to study how convention centres are run. It has also established a training school to train frontline staff. – Karen Yue
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