Representatives from the tourism bureaus of Chinese cities and entrepreneurs from the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions industry (also known as MICE) gathered at the China National Convention Center in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon for the 2014 Winter Promotion of the China MICE Cities Alliance.
Founded in Beijing in 2012, the alliance has 15 Chinese cities as members, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chengdu. It aims to optimize the allocation of high-end tourism resources, strengthen cooperation among cities and complement each other's advantages, to boost the development of the Chinese MICE industry.
"All the cities have many achievements in different aspects of the MICE industry," said Wang Yue, deputy director of the Beijing Commission of Tourism Development, at the conference. "The alliance has become a useful platform for cities to learn from each other and share their experiences. I hope the alliance will keep expanding its influence and give impetus to China's MICE industry, with joint efforts from the 15 cities."
Keynote speakers from tourism bureaus and MICE enterprises and associations shared their research on trends and development of the industry, both at home and abroad.
The report shows that more MICE service companies such as tourism agencies are hosting meetings and conferences as they become aware of the need to purchase such services. The share of meetings and conferences supported by public money from the government is expected to keep decreasing.
The alliance has explored new marketing channels to promote its image on the international stage, such as at IMEX in Frankfurt, a worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events.
xulin@chinadaily.com.cn
By Xu Lin ( China Daily )
