On the afternoon of October 26, the press conference Improving the Environment and Welcoming the CIIE: Promoting High-Quality Development of Shanghai's Exhibition Industry, hosted by the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Industries Association, was successfully held. Li Hong, second-level inspector of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce; Ning Feng, president of National Exhibition and Convention Center Shanghai; Sang Jingmin, deputy Party secretary and president of the association; Yang Xubo, head of the commerce division of the Shanghai Hongqiao International Central Business District Administrative Committee; and Xie Ming, general manager of Shanghai West Hongqiao Business Development Co., Ltd., attended and delivered remarks. More than 120 people attended, including Li Lei, head of the exhibition industry division of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce; Xu Yanwen, director of the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Industry Promotion Center; Jiang Gangsheng, director of the Pudong New Area Convention and Exhibition Industry Promotion Center; and representatives from Shanghai venues, exhibition organizers and contractors, display engineering companies, universities and media.
At the press conference, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, National Exhibition and Convention Center Shanghai, Hongqiao International Central Business District Administrative Committee, the association and West Hongqiao jointly released the Requirements for Green Exhibition Operation and Management, the Shanghai Guidelines for Civilized Exhibition Visiting, and the Model Exhibition Logistics Contract. These documents will play an important role in guiding and regulating green development of the exhibition industry, further optimizing Shanghai's exhibition business environment and promoting high-quality development of Shanghai's exhibition industry.
I. Accelerated recovery and stronger momentum: Shanghai's exhibition industry enters full recovery.
Shanghai is a leading center for China's exhibition economy, with both exhibition scale and exhibition quality at the forefront nationwide. From January to September this year, Shanghai's total exhibition area reached 13.48 million square meters. The city's exhibition industry is entering full recovery, and demand for exhibitions at major venues remains strong. Li Hong said in his speech that Shanghai is expected to host 50 large exhibitions above 100,000 square meters this year, with exhibition area exceeding 9.2 million square meters. Both the number and scale will exceed 2019 levels. The annual exhibition area is expected to exceed 16 million square meters, reaching more than 80 percent of the total exhibition area in 2019. Shanghai's exhibition industry has strong resilience, great potential and sufficient vitality. Its long-term positive fundamentals remain unchanged, and the exhibition economy as a whole shows a good trend of accelerated recovery and stronger momentum.
As a pioneering event in the history of global trade exhibitions, the first China International Import Expo was held in Shanghai in November 2018. The CIIE has always been committed to green exhibition development. On November 5 this year, the sixth CIIE will open grandly at the National Exhibition and Convention Center Shanghai. Ning Feng said in his remarks that the venue will uphold the concept of green exhibitions and strive to present a higher-quality, higher-level green CIIE. Tu Jianqing, secretary-general of the association, chaired the press conference.
II. One standard and two documents provide a Shanghai model for green exhibitions.
To create favorable conditions for the successful holding of the sixth CIIE, build a soft environment conducive to the development of the exhibition industry and promote high-quality development of the exhibition economy, the press conference released one standard and two documents: Requirements for Green Exhibition Operation and Management, Shanghai Guidelines for Civilized Exhibition Visiting, and Model Exhibition Logistics Contract.
At the conference, Sang Jingmin introduced the standard and documents in detail. First, the group standard Requirements for Green Exhibition Operation and Management was released. Upholding the concept of green development, the standard aims at holding green exhibitions with low carbon and zero emissions, follows the direction of universality, operability and international standards, covers operating and management entities across the entire exhibition industry chain, and proposes guidance for establishing green exhibition operation and management systems and mechanisms and regulating green exhibition behavior. The standard specially includes content related to the green CIIE, providing a Shanghai model for promoting sustainable green exhibition operation and management and guiding the industry's green development.
Second, the Shanghai Guidelines for Civilized Exhibition Visiting were released. To create a safe, civilized and orderly environment for exhibiting and visiting, optimize visitor experience and improve exhibition quality, the guidelines provide routine work guidance on maintaining visiting order, strengthening self-media management and improving emergency response capability. Third, the Model Exhibition Logistics Contract was released. The text aims to regulate the rights and obligations of exhibitors and logistics service providers, improve transparency and fairness of logistics service charging standards, and further improve the convenience of in-venue logistics services. Sang said the official release of the standard and two documents is intended to create favorable conditions for the successful holding of the sixth CIIE, further optimize the business environment for Shanghai's exhibition economy and promote healthy and sustainable development of the city's exhibition economy.
III. Industry-chain participants work together to create a new future for Shanghai exhibitions.
Yang Xubo said the Hongqiao Business District will provide policy encouragement for enterprises that actively practice green exhibition concepts. Xie Ming said the West Hongqiao area will further increase support for the exhibition industry and continuously improve service levels and capabilities. Both emphasized the importance of green exhibition concepts for high-quality development of Shanghai's exhibition industry and said they would further encourage and promote green industry development.
How should green exhibition concepts be implemented? The answer was explored during a roundtable on the development history of green exhibition projects, moderated by Wang Shengying, executive dean of the International Exhibition Industry Research Institute of Shanghai Polytechnic University. Jiang Gangsheng, director of the Pudong New Area Convention and Exhibition Industry Promotion Center, said from an industry management perspective that green exhibition project development requires joint efforts by venues, organizers and other industry-chain entities, as well as strong support from public resources. Ni Jiliang, executive deputy general manager of Shanghai Sinoexpo Informa Markets International Exhibition Co., Ltd., noted that his company was the first to set a zero-waste target for exhibitions, proving that green exhibitions are a feasible practical direction. Wang Rong, general manager of Shanghai Jingqiao Exhibition Service Co., Ltd., said the core value of green exhibitions lies in helping customers reduce costs and improve efficiency. Yang Kede, general manager of Shanghai Lingtong Exhibition Display Group Co., Ltd., encouraged unifying the implementation of green exhibition concepts with commercial success.
How can greater economic benefits be achieved under the guidance of green exhibition concepts and within the new market pattern? At the roundtable on exhibition development trends under the new market pattern, moderated by Sang Jingmin, guests answered from multiple perspectives and interacted with participants. Xu Jia, chief executive officer of Messe Muenchen Shanghai Co., Ltd., encouraged learning from excellent overseas experience and applying it to domestic exhibition development according to local conditions. Ding Hongbo, chairman of RV2GO and Fangchexing, said the integrated development of exhibitions plus internet plus continuation will become an important revenue channel for future exhibition enterprises. Sheng Lei, director of the president's office of Shanghai VNU Exhibitions Co., Ltd., said customers have increasingly high requirements for exhibition services and that companies should draw on experience in transforming their own operating models. Wu Peng, president of Shanghai Liso Group, said efficient operation and value focus are the future direction of exhibition business development.
Conclusion: improve the environment, welcome the CIIE and build a Shanghai model for green exhibitions. Guided by innovative green exhibition concepts and standards, and through coordinated action by participants across the exhibition industry chain, Shanghai's exhibition industry is entering a new stage of higher-level and higher-quality development.
Related WeChat posts by the association: Improving the Environment and Welcoming the CIIE: Building a Shanghai Model for Green Exhibitions; Shanghai Guidelines for Civilized Exhibition Visiting; group standard Requirements for Green Exhibition Operation and Management; and Model Exhibition Logistics Contract.