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April 27, 2015

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Home » Feature » Mice

Scaling international heights with G20 summit

By Xu Wenwen | April 27, 2015, Monday | Print Edition

It’s been more than a decade since the government of Hangzhou set the goal of turning the Zhejiang Province capital into a MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) hub.

So it’s not surprising that local residents are now used to exhibitions, which provide them with an opportunity to purchase all kinds of goods, from agriculture produce to wedding flowers to cosplay costumes.

But the G20 (Group of 20) summit to be held next year is set to be a big leap forward for the city’s MICE industry. The G20 is the premier forum for economic cooperation and decision-making among the 20 countries that comprise the elite grouping.

Is Hangzhou ready to hold such an international top-level convention? “Yes,” insists Zhao Hongzhong, deputy director of Hangzhou Tourism Commission. “From all aspects we are ready, and are going full steam ahead with our preparations.”

In fact, the local government is determined to make 2015 the “international convention year” for Hangzhou, by strengthening the connection between the city and international MICE agencies and holding more high-end international conventions.

The 11th G20 summit in 2016 is just one of the big events in the city. For example, Hangzhou will host the First Internet Public Charity Convention in October this year, where United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and former United States President Bill Clinton will be among the participants.

The industry chain in the city has developed well following years of work. According to the Hangzhou Convention and Exhibition Office, the city organizes more than 10,000 meetings, where the number of participants in each meeting is over 50 people, and holds 200-plus professional exhibitions every year.

The passion for proving the industry’s worth can be clearly explained by economics: For example, if US$1 is made in the exhibition hall, then outside the exhibition, accommodation, shopping and tourism yield US$9.

To make the cake bigger, adding more than a dash of international character is necessary.

Guo Mu, director of Zhejiang International Convention and Exhibition Association, claims that an important goal of the city is to establish itself as an international conference destination.

“Convenient transportation, nice hotels, beautiful sceneries and deep culture all award marks to a city’s international image,” Guo adds.

Hangzhou boasts more than 250 star hotels, including 14 five-star properties, listing No. 3 among all mainland cities, behind Beijing and Shanghai.

Hangzhou also ranks No. 3 on the list of catering international conventions by the International Congress and Convention Association.

Incidentally, over the past years Hangzhou has won many awards, including Outstanding City for MICE Management, Best Conference Destination of China, and Top 10 Influential MICE City in China.

“Hangzhou has already taken huge steps thanks to the experience of holding the West Lake International Expo for 15 consecutive years,” said Ye Min, the director of the Hangzhou Convention and Exhibition Office, also the director of the Organizing Committee of West Lake International Expo.

He pointed out that 11 colleges and universities now run majors on MICE in the city, where more than 300 enterprises also do MICE-related business. In addition, the Hangzhou Convention and Exhibition Association has more than 200 unit members.

However, most of Hangzhou MICE companies are small, without much international exposure. So far, only one international corporation, UBM, has set up office in Hangzhou. It is the third largest convention and exhibition company which has held an international jewelry exhibition in the city.

Zhejiang International Convention and Exhibition Association’s Guo reveals that for years the city has been holding large-scale expos in the relatively limited number of small exhibition halls.

The good news is that the 840,000-square-meter Hangzhou International Expo Center is to open next year.

This top-level center, believed to be the main venue for the G20, will be able to contain 7,500 booths in its exhibition halls covering 150,000 square meters. And the coverage center of convention is almost 30,000 square meters.

In addition, to serve the G20, the local government is training a team of thousands of chauffeurs to speak functional English.

The other direction, apart from the international touch, is “marketization.”

Local authorities are making efforts to “introduce more enterprise-led programs,” says Fang Jianhui, an official of the Hangzhou Convention and Exhibition Office.

“Before we mainly held government-led programs, but now we are aware that business-led conventions not only bring in benefits but also save the government’s budget,” he concedes.

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