The first ITB China ended as a success. The three day B2B event from May 10 to 12 proved its importance in being China’s new marketplace for the travel trade industry. The estimated figures given by the organizers of ITB China/ MB Exhibitions Shanghai is a total of 600 exhibiting companies from nearly 70 countries and regions met with a total of over 10,000 attendees and buyers.
“I am extremely delighted with the way our first edition went. Our new Chinese ITB brand was the focus of general interest to a great degree, especially amongst Chinese buyers. ITB China marked a special milestone with 10,000 attendees participating in this significant premiere and also showed how important face-to-face meetings remain in the digital age. We can look back at a very successful trade show and set the stage for ITB China 2018.” Says Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin.
The ITB China conference registered high levels of attendance. A total of 2,700 attendees took part in the lectures, discussions and keynotes, given by 70 industry speakers. The keynotes proved to be major visitor attractions.
Over 10,000 pre-scheduled appointments between exhibitors and hosted Chinese buyers were realized during the show. The quality of visitors contributed to strong business outcomes for the exhibitors at ITB China 2017.
The spotlight was on the partner destination Europe, which featured a multitude of national presences paired with strong individual attendances of major European destinations.
Eduardo Santander, Executive Director, European Travel Commission said “ITB China 2017 was another proof of the importance of joint promotion activities of the European tourism sector in China. Travel and tourism promotes reciprocal understanding, and in order to do so our Chinese customers must continue to be catered with the best offer in Europe adapted to their particular needs and expectations. ITB China has placed Europe higher in its agenda making a contribution to make our destinations more attractive and competitive. We are happy and honoured to have been ITB China’s first destination partner for 2017. This has been only the beginning of the preparations to the EU-China Tourism Year 2018, an upcoming year full of opportunities and partnerships”.
The speed-dating event on the first day of ITB China was attended with more than 400 participants. Hosted by Meituan-Dianping, the event enabled buyers to establish valuable links in the shortest possible time. The World Bridge Tourism project took place alongside ITB China with 350 attendance. This networking workshop involved hosting 100 European tourism suppliers who met with a similar number of Chinese outbound operators. Apart from these, ITB China also featured numerous on-site events, panel discussions and workshops that enabled visitors and exhibitors to engage with Chinese travel bloggers. They represented a variety of sectors such as adventure, luxury and business travel.
The 2017 Start-Up Award was given to GolfVoyager who represents a revolution in the way that people book their golf vacations. The Award recognized companies that have turned dreams and ideas into viable business solutions with great market potential.
ITB China decided to make business and the trade show participation for both exhibitors and visitors easier in helping with translation services. The B2B show provided complimentary bilingual stand hostesses for each exhibitor. China’s new marketplace for the travel industry sees the complimentary translation hostess service as a factor that sets ITB China apart from other trade shows.
There was keen interest shown by the media with more than 150 accredited Chinese and international journalists reporting from ITB China. As anywhere in the world, wechat communication in China is very important and the best way to reach Chinese media. ITB China has been using wechat as a communication tool and shared its news regularly in Chinese.
Next year’s ITB China 2018 will be held May 16 to 18 at Hall 1 of Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Centre.