CEFCO 2017: Promoting industrial transition and international communication

On 12 to 14， January， as one of the most important communication platform for global exhibition industry， the 13th China Expo Forum for International Cooperation （CEFCO 2017） was held in Macao， China. The conference was jointly organized by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade （CCPIT）， The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry （UFI）， the International Association of Exhibitions and Events（IAEE）， Society of Independent Show Organizers （SISO）， and hosted by China Chamber of International Commerce（CCOIC） and Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute（IPIM）. The three-day event welcomed about 800 delegates， including nearly 400 international delegates from 25 countries and regions in the world. Surrounding this year’s theme“embracing change”， delegates from governments， associations， and companies discussed how to seize opportunities and meet challenges against the background of slow global economic recovery and Chinese economy transition.

On the Opening Ceremony on 12 January， leaders from the organizers， including Mr. Jiang Zengwei， Chairman of CCPIT， Mr. Leong Vai Tac， Secretary for Economy and Finance of Macao SAR， Mr. Andreas Gruchow， President of UFI， gave opening speeches.

Mr. Jiang Zengwei said in his speech that this year， CEFCO will give in-depth discussions on the new opportunities， new modes， and new growth points in the exhibition industry， and pointed out that the Chinese exhibition industry must follow the direction of professionalism， internationalization， branding， and informatization.

Mr. Leong Vai Tac pointed that CEFCO is an important industrial event has come to Macao this year， this was an approval for the Macao exhibition industry from the world， and would increase the name of Macao as a MICE destination. More importantly， he hoped that the networking opportunities this time would bring revelation for the future development of Macao exhibition industry.

Mr. Andreas Gruchow observed that in the past years， China has undergone dramatic changes in the exhibition industry， now there are excellent venues， events， and numerous exhibition companies in cities in the entire country. He said the about ten years ago， Chinese exhibition professionals were very interested to learn from their counterparts in other countries. Today， the situation is the opposite， more and more companies in other countries are keen to hear the success secrets and experience sharing from Chinese exhibition companies. He thinks that in order to solve key issues like young talents recruitment， coping with globalization and digital tides， one important channel is for industrial leaders to meet together.

This year， CEFCO consisted of 3 plenary sessions， 4 breakout sessions and 4 topical lectures on hot topics ranging from “the transition of “MICE renovation， booster to economic recovery”“shifting role of government in MICE industry”， “Chinese organizers going global” to “Marriage of MICE and i-platforms”. Apart from the above practical topics， there were also topical lectures to discuss topics like cloud platform and VR. Here are selected the opinions from speakers：

How do we evaluate the quality of venues？ Exhibitors， venue owners， venue operators， organizers， and visitors all have different expectations for the venue. Therefore， the venue operators and designers must understand the needs and expectations of the clients， otherwise they have failed.

——Gerd Weber， Head of Venue Planning Group of JWC GmbH

If there were two venues， one in Macao and one in Hong Kong. The one in Hong Kong quotes a price one time higher than the one in Macao， then I would definitely choose the latter. Price is not the chief factor for clients， but it is indeed a relevant factor. Therefore， the rental prices of venues must stay reasonable.

——Michael Kruppe， General Manager of Shanghai New International Expo Center

A main strategy for exhibition companies to enter foreign markets is through M+A. It is suggested that they should follow local law systems in developing exhibition business. Companies can also set up local companies and build a local team which are more familiar with local environment than foreign staff.

——Zhao Weiping， General Manager of Messe Frankfurt Shanghai Co.， Ltd

The Macao Government promotes local MICE industry through three methods： first， set up a dedicated MICE development committee to advance the overall development of local MICE industry； second， continuously improve the scale and level of MICE events and attract more exhibitors and congress attendees to Macao； three， raise the rate of private-operated events to the current 89% among all Macao MICE events.

——Irena Va Kuan Lau， Executive Director of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute

Now is the high time that the Chinese exhibition industry went global. In achieving this purpose， we need the following resources： international talents， international cooperation organizations， international client base， international media resources， and international and professional event organizing expertise.

——Zhang Xueshan， Chairman of Zhenwei Exhibition Corp.

At the conference， Mr. Wang Jinzhen， Vice Chairman of CCPIT， released the Annual Report on China’s Exhibition Industry 2016， which has been serving as a mainstream window for international professionals to understand the overall picture of Chinese exhibition industry.

Another highlight of CEFCO 2017 was the remarkably increased presence of Portuguese-speaking and south-east Asian countries. The organizers hoped that through CEFCO， exhibition professionals could gain first-hand understanding of Macao MICE resources and advantages and bring more events back to Macao in the future.