Beijing is ranked 14th globally and 2nd regionally in terms of the number of international conferences held in 2014, according to the latest data of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).
A third of all international conferences held in Chinese capital
Major event bookings recorded in China National Convention Center’s (CNCC) reservation system are as far ahead as in 2023, for the Asian Conference on Nutrition anticipating 6000 delegates. “Large-scale events that don’t grab a slot ahead of time when it is still available will find that the slot is gone after just a few months,” CNCC’s vice president Feng Xu said.
Every year roughly 10% of all international conferences in Beijing are held at the CNCC, making it the city’s top venue. Mr. Xu said the center hosted 918 conferences in 2014 alone, of which 12% were international conferences.
Beijing hosted almost a third of the 332 international conferences held in China last year. “ICCA’s criteria are extremely strict, taking into account only the events held by nationally accredited international specialist organizations, or regular events rotating in three or more countries, and meetings that have more than 50 delegates. Therefore, the ICCA data represent only a fraction of the international events held in Beijing last year,” Beijing Tourism Committee’s commissioner for luxury tourism Hao Jiang said.
Olympics, APEC summit cast Beijing in new light
Equipment and facilities at the CNCC won the praise of many delegates during the week-long APEC summit it hosted last November. Mr. Xu said CNCC used the world’s most advanced equipment with automatic tracking function during the APEC summit, and this reflects the standard that Beijing offers for all international conferences.
The success of the Olympics and APEC summit have served as magnets to attract more events to Beijing, helping Beijing become one of the top 10 global destinations for international meetings in 2011.
In 2011, Beijing High-end Tourism and Meetings Industry Alliance was set up to bring together academic associations, conference organizers and suppliers and meet the various needs of international conferences.
International conferences bring new business opportunities
MICE travelers make up a fourth of all inbound visitors to China every year and also account for half of the total visitor consumption, according to data from tourism authorities. Although the delegates’ key purpose of visiting Beijing is to attend conferences, they inevitably fuel consumption in dining and entertainment services.
The Yanqing International Grape Conference held last year was an event to direct the focus from academic research to industrial development. Presently, the two grape producing regions of Yanqing and Huailai counties have approximately183 square kilometers of vineyards producing 70,000 tons of wine worth RMB4 billion every year. By 2030, The areas will be expanded to encompass 266 square kilometers of vineyard with 150 wineries producing 300,000 tons wine worth RMB14 billion a year.
Although the duration of an international conference may be short, but each one is an opportunity to elevate an industry, which in turn makes the economy more vibrant, at the same time providing more ways for the general population to create wealth.(Translation by David)
