What role did Beijing’s 2008 Olympic Games play in raising the capital’s profile for the events industry?
The unprecedented success of the Games has showcased China’s capability for organising large-scale events, thus strengthening international clients’ confidence in organising events in China.
More importantly, by way of this opportunity, the world’s advanced concept of conferencing has spread into China and, therefore, improved the Chinese meeting professionals’ specialised knowledge exponentially. As a result, the Chinese government, as well as the public, has started to realise the important role the industry plays, which is of great help for the future development of its meeting sector.
Where is China currently positioned in the international meetings market?
Thanks to China’s reforms and opening policies in recent years, the blend of international cultures has led to an increase in international conferences choosing China as their meeting destination.
China ranked ninth in the International Congress and Convention Association 2009 Statistics Report, according to the total number of international conferences held.
Did the retro-fit back to a convention centre, following the Olympiad, go as planned, and are you happy with the business results at CNCC since?
After the Olympics, CNCC finished the retro-fitting by October 2009. The management had undertaken lots of preparatory work during this period, such as establishing the organisational structures, marketing and internal training. Following the CNCC’s officially opening last November we were really very busy with events coming to our centre.
How many events have there been and what kind of value can you put on them?
As of July 2010, CNCC has hosted over 500 meetings and events and 56 exhibitions.
What’s more exciting is 12 per cent of the events are considered large, with more than 1,000 attendees each. The conference yields are approximately 2.5 times exhibition yields. It’s easy to see that the conference business has the best economic benefits.
Association meetings are the key focus for the CNCC. Judging from what we have accomplished so far, corporate clients are high-quality users with adequate budgets and a demand for meetings, thus CNCC is trying to expand investment to attract more corporate meetings.
What is the ownership structure of CNCC?
CNCC is fully-owned and operated by Beijing North Star Company (BNS), which is listed both in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The senior management team of CNCC was appointed by BNS and is responsible for its operation independently. Venue management company SMG provided us with less than one year’s consulting services, which ended in late 2008.
How does CNCC market itself to international event organisers?
CNCC has attached great importance to international marketing. First, to strengthen exchanges and gain the latest information, CNCC has joined IAEE, ICCA, AIPC and other international trade organisations.
Secondly, CNCC is committed to supporting industry conferences and exhibitions. For example, CIBTM has been held at CNCC for two consecutive years. We are always to be found at trade events, including ICCA’s annual conference, the AIPC annual congress, EIBTM and IMEX.
In view of Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company’s acquisition of Excel London and China’s fast growing economy, do you foresee CNCC forging any such strategic partnerships abroad?
In terms of GDP, China became the world’s second largest economy in Q2 of 2010, which will promote the economic integration between China and the world. Actually, Chinese enterprises in many fields have begun to go global, such as car maker Geely and computer producer Lenovo. Geely’s successful acquisition of Volvo fully demonstrates that Chinese firms have the capacity for mergers and acquisitions. The same thing will happen in the meeting industry and, in the future, CNCC may seek international strategic partners.
How is the local Chinese meetings market developing, including educating new cadres of workers to staff centres?
China’s meeting industry’s revenue, together with the number of meetings, has been greatly increasing. However, we are facing a couple of challenges, one of which is government support. China has no national convention and visitors bureau (CVB), let alone a city-level CVB.
Education is another issue the industry is coming up against. Standard operation knowhow is weak and the meeting industry lacks long-term development planning and training courses. We need do a lot more.
Will we see Chinese organisers exporting conventions to other markets?
China’s meeting and exhibition industry has demonstrated the strong demand for export. Undoubtedly, it will also go global for more development opportunities. I believe China will first export exhibitions and conventions to South-East Asia in the near future.
