IN the Year 2009, the number of international conferences held in Shanghai reached a total of 771, an increase of 93 conferences compared the number in 2008. Of these, 12 were large international conferences which consisted of more than 1,000 delegates, occupying a total of 1.6% of the meeting`s market, 53 conferences were for delegates ranging from 500 - 999, accounting for 6.9%. 124 meetings were for 300 - 499 delegates, accounting for 16.1%; 371 meetings for 100 - 299 delegates, accounting for 48.1%; and 121 meetings were for 50 - 99 delegates, accounting for 15.7%; 82 meetings were for 50 delegates, accounting for 10.6%; 8 meetings had an indeterminate number of delegates, accounting for 1%.
The 771 international conferences (excluding the 8 meetings with an indeterminate number of participants) attracted a total of 166,391 participants, of which 39,956 delegates were from overseas. 25 of those conferences had a meeting duration of 6 days and 335 conferences were between 3 to 5 days, 411 conferences were between 1 C 2 days.
The number of international conferences held in Shanghai in 2009 increased by 93 compared with those in 2008, representing an increase of 13.7%. Among them, association conferences increased by 42, up by 25.8% as against the number recorded for 2008, corporate meetings were up by 58, an increase of 32.6% against 2008.
Seminars and forums were down by 25, a decrease of 9% compared with 2008. Other meetings (including government meetings) showed an increase of 18 in 2009, up by 31% compared with the 2008 figure.
12 of the 2009 international conferences consisted of more than 1,000 delegates, a number which equaled that of the 2008. 53 of the 2009 conferences were attended by 500 - 999 delegates, a decrease of 7 compared with that of 2008. 124 of the conferences were for 300 - 499 delegates, representing an increase of 4 compared with 2008. 371 conferences were for 100 C 299 delegates. The total number of delegates increased slightly as against that of 2008, but the average number of participants per conference showed a slight reduction compared with that of 2008.
It is worth noting that the total number of foreign guests who attended the conferences was 39,955 in 2009, which was 5000 less than that in 2008, down by 10%. This shows that the economic crisis continues to have an impact on the number of foreigners coming to China for conferences, which corresponds to the reduction in the number of inbound tourists to Shanghai in 2009.
The current trend is the rise of the associations in the Asia-Pacific region, and many international associations have in recent years held their Asia Pacific regional conferences. According to the ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) data, Shanghai`s world ranking on the number of international association conferences held has been on the rise for three consecutive years. International associations are increasingly eyeing optimistically about the association market in China, and Chinese domestic and industry associations are also playing an active role in the exchanges and cooperation through international conferences in the Asia-Pacific region. All this also dovetails with the current macro trend of reducing the overall costs of business meetings with a focus on environment protection, energy-saving, low carbon economy.
A trend emerging from the meetings is that of specialization integrating closely between the current macro economy and industries. Such industries as Finance, IT, Electronic Information, Bio-pharmaceutical, Medical, Environmental Emission Reduction, the Automotive Industry, etc have become hot spots and areas of growth for the future meeting`s industry. Some of those meetings have evolved into brands within the region.
The 2010 Shanghai World Expo 2010 brings with it a degree of uncertainty for the 2010 international conferences being held in Shanghai. It is understood that in order to ensure the smooth running of the World Expo, Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office has issued notices to various units and organizations in Shanghai requesting them to minimize the number of international conference in Shanghai in 2010. The policy to tighten or reduce the number of international conferences has resulted in some meetings previously scheduled for Shanghai being cancelled, rescheduled, or transferred to different locations.
Shanghai 2010 World Expo`s primary objective is to ensure a "peaceful Expo". As a result, the visa policy for incoming visitors during the Expo period is not yet clear. As the World Expo will last an extended period of time, changes in visa policy will also have a certain impact on Shanghai`s international convention tourism industry as a whole.
2010 is the World Expo year, increases in tourism prices will increase the overall costs of international conferences being held in Shanghai. According to current information, hotel accommodation costs in 2010 will increase by about 30%. In addition, according to estimates by experts, during the World Expo, 4000 big coaches a day will be deployed to transport passengers, which may also cause the price of business travel cars to increase.
The 771 international conferences (excluding the 8 meetings with an indeterminate number of participants) attracted a total of 166,391 participants, of which 39,956 delegates were from overseas. 25 of those conferences had a meeting duration of 6 days and 335 conferences were between 3 to 5 days, 411 conferences were between 1 C 2 days.
The number of international conferences held in Shanghai in 2009 increased by 93 compared with those in 2008, representing an increase of 13.7%. Among them, association conferences increased by 42, up by 25.8% as against the number recorded for 2008, corporate meetings were up by 58, an increase of 32.6% against 2008.
Seminars and forums were down by 25, a decrease of 9% compared with 2008. Other meetings (including government meetings) showed an increase of 18 in 2009, up by 31% compared with the 2008 figure.
12 of the 2009 international conferences consisted of more than 1,000 delegates, a number which equaled that of the 2008. 53 of the 2009 conferences were attended by 500 - 999 delegates, a decrease of 7 compared with that of 2008. 124 of the conferences were for 300 - 499 delegates, representing an increase of 4 compared with 2008. 371 conferences were for 100 C 299 delegates. The total number of delegates increased slightly as against that of 2008, but the average number of participants per conference showed a slight reduction compared with that of 2008.
It is worth noting that the total number of foreign guests who attended the conferences was 39,955 in 2009, which was 5000 less than that in 2008, down by 10%. This shows that the economic crisis continues to have an impact on the number of foreigners coming to China for conferences, which corresponds to the reduction in the number of inbound tourists to Shanghai in 2009.
The current trend is the rise of the associations in the Asia-Pacific region, and many international associations have in recent years held their Asia Pacific regional conferences. According to the ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) data, Shanghai`s world ranking on the number of international association conferences held has been on the rise for three consecutive years. International associations are increasingly eyeing optimistically about the association market in China, and Chinese domestic and industry associations are also playing an active role in the exchanges and cooperation through international conferences in the Asia-Pacific region. All this also dovetails with the current macro trend of reducing the overall costs of business meetings with a focus on environment protection, energy-saving, low carbon economy.
A trend emerging from the meetings is that of specialization integrating closely between the current macro economy and industries. Such industries as Finance, IT, Electronic Information, Bio-pharmaceutical, Medical, Environmental Emission Reduction, the Automotive Industry, etc have become hot spots and areas of growth for the future meeting`s industry. Some of those meetings have evolved into brands within the region.
The 2010 Shanghai World Expo 2010 brings with it a degree of uncertainty for the 2010 international conferences being held in Shanghai. It is understood that in order to ensure the smooth running of the World Expo, Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office has issued notices to various units and organizations in Shanghai requesting them to minimize the number of international conference in Shanghai in 2010. The policy to tighten or reduce the number of international conferences has resulted in some meetings previously scheduled for Shanghai being cancelled, rescheduled, or transferred to different locations.
Shanghai 2010 World Expo`s primary objective is to ensure a "peaceful Expo". As a result, the visa policy for incoming visitors during the Expo period is not yet clear. As the World Expo will last an extended period of time, changes in visa policy will also have a certain impact on Shanghai`s international convention tourism industry as a whole.
2010 is the World Expo year, increases in tourism prices will increase the overall costs of international conferences being held in Shanghai. According to current information, hotel accommodation costs in 2010 will increase by about 30%. In addition, according to estimates by experts, during the World Expo, 4000 big coaches a day will be deployed to transport passengers, which may also cause the price of business travel cars to increase.