The Role of a Destination Management Organisation (DMO) in China, taking the example of Shanghai

Chen, Patrick

Shanghai International Conference Management Organisation (SICMO), under the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration (SMTA), was established in 2003 functioning as a Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB). SICMO aims to assist the SMTA to promote and market Shanghai as one of the premier and attractive MICE destinations in the whole world. To reach the goal, SICMO has launched ten initiatives and programs in the past decade, including the Shanghai MICE Task Force, Shanghai Conference Ambassador Program and others. As a result, Shanghai has become an increasingly popular MICE destination in the Asia Pacific region as well as in the whole world.

Shanghai’s Economy continues to grow at a relative fast pace. The scheduled opening of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), Shanghai Disneyland and Shanghai Tower in 2015 will have great impacts on the city’s MICE industry. SMTA will spare no efforts to further market and promote Shanghai and help to build Shanghai into a world famous destination for both leisure and business travellers.

1    Introduction

Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration (SMTA), under the Shanghai Municipal Government, is a regulating arm in charge of drafting the master plans and strategies for developing the city’s travel and tourism industry, implementing the trade policies and regulations, and coordinating the operations of related organizations and businesses in the industry. It is also responsible for promoting the travel industry and travel products in both domestic and overseas markets.

Under the SMTA, there is a specific department, the International Tourism Promotion Department, which is responsible for promoting Shanghai as an ideal MICE destination as well as the city’s MICE industry. Its major responsibility is to market Shanghai in international meetings and events industry, coordinate the operation of meetings in Shanghai and provide training to the MICE industry people.

Under the SMTA, Shanghai International Conference Management Organization (SICMO) was established in December, 2003 to function like that of a Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) to assist the SMTA to promote and market Shanghai as a premier and attractive MICE destination in the world.

Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration has been a member of ICCA (International Conference and Congress Association) since 2001. To upgrade the professionalism of the city’s MICE industry and promote Shanghai as a popular MICE destination, SMTA has initiated various programs and projects in the past 14 years.

2    SMTA & ICCA

ICCA, the International Congress and Convention Association, is the most important global meetings industry association and the leader in the international association meetings sector. ICCA represents the main specialists in organizing, transporting, and accommodating international meetings and events, and comprises almost 1,000 member companies and organisations in over 90 countries worldwide. ICCA specializes in the international association meetings sector, offering unrivalled data, communication channels and business development opportunities. ICCA’s mission is that ICCA is the global community for the meetings industry, enabling its members to generate and maintain significant competitive advantage (ICCA).

Shanghai is a destination for both leisure travellers and business travellers. In 2001, international arrivals to Shanghai were recorded with two million, among which 58 per cent were business travellers. To develop Shanghai into a popular destination of business events, it was significant to join ICCA. Before becoming an ICCA member, SMTA first became an observer.

Approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SMTA became the first organization in mainland China to join ICCA in July, 2001. By the end of 2002, there were 14 members from mainland China, among which five were from Shanghai. By September of 2013, the total number of ICCA members from mainland China was increased to 44, among which 11 were from Shanghai.

Every year, ICCA organized various events including training workshops, seminars and congresses, among which its most important event is its annual ICCA Congress. Since its founding in 1963, ICCA Congress never came to mainland China. If the meetings and events industry need to be further developed and the industry people in Shanghai as well as in whole China become more international and professional, an ICCA Congress seems to be the right platform.

In 2009, SMTA proposed to bid for the 52nd ICCA Congress to be held in 2013 in Shanghai. Shanghai from mainland China, Gold Coast from Australia and Houston from the United States were shortlisted after the first round.

In May 2010, SMTA led a team of the industry people in China to Frankfurt to present its proposal to bid for the 52nd ICCA Congress. The ICCA Board’s decision to hold the 52nd ICCA Congress in Shanghai from 2–6 November 2013 was made at the IMEX 2010 exhibition in Frankfurt and was revealed on the last day of the show.

ICCA CEO Martin Sirk said: “The standard of bids received from our member destinations continues to improve each year, and Shanghai needed to produce an exceptional proposal in order to win this tough competition. Their bid involved members from all over China, it positioned the ICCA Congress as a key milestone in the strategic development of China’s international meetings industry, was packed with creative concepts, and clearly communicated the enthusiasm and commitment of the host team. We anticipate that this will be a superb event, and look forward to working with our Chinese colleagues on a program that will expose ICCA members to China and its business potential, and which will transfer cutting-edge knowledge and expertise to the Chinese meetings industry.”

The 52nd ICCA Congress was successfully held at the Shanghai International Convention Center from November 2–6, 2013. The Congress attracted 936 delegates from 61 countries and regions in the world. It was the largest ICCA Congress outside Europe. ICCA also celebrated its 50th Anniversary in Shanghai.

Shanghai scored the highest delegate evaluation in ICCA Congress history. Shanghai’s organisational efficiency of almost 82 per cent is on par with best result ever. Martin Sirk, CEO of ICCA commented the Congress: “It’s clear that the ICCA Congress has created an army of highly influential brand ambassadors for Shanghai!”

After the Congress, inquiries about Shanghai and interest in bringing meetings, incentives and events to Shanghai increase. Meetings and conferences have been secured in Shanghai like the 11th World Design & Health Assembly in 2015, the 7th Asian Tumor Summit & Viral Hepatitis Conference, the 9th International Air Transport Association Freight Conference, the 2016 Urban Future Convention, the 2016 Jeunesse Convention and 2020 Global Endometriosis Conference.

In September 2010, ICCA China Committee (Mainland) was officially established in Shanghai. The establishment of the ICCA China Committee (Mainland) will be conducive to better exchanges of experience in managing meetings and conferences, coordination and development of a cooperation mechanism among all ICCA members in China.

In 2001, when SMTA joined ICCA, the number of international association meetings held in Shanghai was 17 with Shanghai’s ranking of No. 58. In 2013, the number of international association meetings was increased to 72 with Shanghai’s ranking of No. 29. Below is the table showing the number of meetings and Shanghai’s ICCA city ranking in the world from 2000 through 2013.

3    Service-standards, research and promotion

3.1    Management & service standards for the conference industry in Shanghai

In September 2012, Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration and Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision jointly released “The Management & Service Standards of the Conference Industry, Part 1: Conference Organizers”. The standards were proposed by SMTA and drafted by SMTA and Shanghai International Conference Management Organization (SICMO). It is the first of the kind in China’s conference service industry and fills the gap in the sector. This document contains provisions on the basic requirements for conference organizers as well as for conference services, conference management, continuous service improvement and compliance assessment. Comprehensive and feasible, the document is intended to help improve the service quality and professionalism of Shanghai’s meetings industry.

The meetings industry is an important part and also an important starting point of the modern service industry. The past decade has seen rapid development of Shanghai’s meetings market. This standard is developed to meet the requirements for the development of the service industry in the new period. It is developed based on the extensive research of the actual development of Shanghai’s conference service industry and the market demand. It will become an important new yardstick used by the conference service industry to manage and evaluate itself and by the government to manage the conference service industry.

Under Shanghai Municipal Tourism Standardization Technical Committee, SMTA established Shanghai MICE Professional Committee in April, 2013.

In September 2014, the assessment of the first group of 17 conference organizers was completed. The announcement of those which pass the assessment is scheduled to be released in December, 2014. And the official website of Shanghai Meetings and Conferences Service Standards is soon to be released as well.

The Management and Service Standards of Conference Industry Part 2: Conference Venues are also scheduled to be released soon.

3.2    Research & report

One of the major jobs of the SICMO is to carry out market research of the meetings and events industry to provide valuable insight to SMTA. SMTA and SICMO have been successively producing Reports on Shanghai’s International Meetings for the Year of 1997 through the Year of 2013.

The Report on Shanghai’s International Meetings for the Year of 2013 provides a comprehensive analysis on various international meetings held in Shanghai in 2013. In 2013, a total number of 613 international meetings were held in Shanghai, among which 207 were corporate meetings, 175 association meetings, 203 seminars and forums, 28 government meetings and others. Out of the total 613 international meetings held in Shanghai in 2013, 24 meetings were attended by over 1000 delegates, 55 meetings by 500 to 999 delegates, 115 meetings by 300–499 delegates, the rest 419 meetings by under 300 delegates. The 613 international meetings attracted a total number of 198,983 delegates, among which 69,546 were overseas delegates. In terms of meeting duration, ten meetings lasted over six days, 241 meetings lasted three to five days, 362 meetings lasted one to two days.

In addition to the complete list of all the 613 meetings, the Report on Shanghai’s International Meetings for the Year of 2013 also listed all the international association meetings held in Shanghai, which were included in ICCA database as well as the background of the important international meetings which take place in Shanghai every year.

3.3    Shanghai MICE Task Force

Shanghai MICE Task Force was officially formed in April, 2010 to bring together the players and partners of the meetings and events industry in Shanghai to enhance the development of the MICE industry. Meetings, seminars, workshops and inspection tours are organized on a regular basis to let the members of the Task Force to be updated with what’s the latest development of the MICE industry in Shanghai and the industry trends in China as well as in the world.

The latest event organized for the Shanghai MICE Task Force members was a venue inspection tour of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) organized on July 17, 2014. Measuring 147,000 square meters in total construction area, the National Convention & Exhibition Center (Shanghai) is currently the world’s largest single building and a complex for exhibitions, conferences and events. The construction of the National Convention & Exhibition Center (Shanghai) North Zone was completed at the end of June in 2014, and the first exhibition will be held in the middle of October. The National Convention & Exhibition Center (Shanghai) has been discussed a lot in the MICE industry, and it will inject new vitality into the development of Shanghai’s MICE industry and have great impact on the local economy. In order to help the members of Shanghai MICE Task Force gain a better understanding of the Center as soon as possible, the event was therefore organized and proved to be very popular.

To update, Shanghai MICE Task Force is joined by a total number of 38 organizations or companies from local PCOs, DMCs, convention centers, hotels and airlines.

3.4    Shanghai Conference Ambassador Program

The market of meetings and events industry has always been regarded as a high-end tourist market, and the international conference industry is a rewarding industry bringing both economic and social benefits. Successful conferences can not only promote local academic to the world’s level, but also reap great economic benefits for the hosting city. Moreover, they can make their hosting city better well-known in the world. Attracting more international conferences to Shanghai cannot be solely achieved by one aspect of endeavour. It is a comprehensive and systemic task, which calls for the integration of the resources of the entire city and concerted efforts rendered by all walks of life.

Therefore, the SMTA developed the Conference Ambassador Program in 2006, a new initiative to formalize and cultivate the relationship between the SMTA and individuals who organize conferences in Shanghai on a voluntary, non-professional basis.

The programme recognizes the significant contributions of these “Conference Ambassadors”, who will help develop Shanghai into a vibrant destination for international conferences. By creating a closer and more effective network of Conference Ambassadors, the programme facilitates the organizing of conferences in Shanghai – to the benefit of all parties. The programme seeks to make it as easy as possible to bring a conference to the city, from the creation of a tailored bid document through to venue selection and detailed conference organization.

Shanghai Conference Ambassadors are typically persons, who are influential in their respective professional and industry associations, as well as being industry specialists. They may already have practical experience securing and organizing conferences in their chosen fields, or have demonstrated the potential to do so.

In their ability to influence peers and promote locally held events, Conference Ambassadors often serve as spokespersons for Shanghai, especially while attending conferences and events overseas. They also serve a valuable role during the bidding process, where the local chapter of the international association is often required to lead the bid.

From the successful experience of countries and regions rich in hosting international conferences, the conference ambassadors are usually appointed by the city conference bureau. In some countries and regions, the appointment of conference ambassadors has a long history. For instance, major cities in Britain and Ireland have adopted such kind of program during the past ten years. There are over 100 celebrities of various circles appointed as the conference ambassadors in Manchester.

Since its establishment in 2006, a total number of 89 Shanghai conference ambassadors from various fields of industries have been appointed.

SMTA will support Conference Ambassadors to secure a conference for Shanghai under the following criteria:

1. Support for a site inspection to Shanghai by decision makers. Free reception service for decision makers for inspecting Shanghai’s qualification for hosting corresponding conferences.

2. Supporting letter from the director of SMTA

3. Funding to design and produce bidding documents 4. Support with bid documents, supply of images, videos, DVDs, posters, etc.

Once the conference is secured, SMTA will support the organizers to a limited extent as follows:

1. Marketing the conference to delegates, support to local hosts attending conferences in intervening years to promote Shanghai, with such as print.

2. Contribute or support welcoming receptions for delegates in certain circumstances.

3. Shanghai tourist maps and guidebooks will be provided for conference delegates and Shanghai albums will be offered to VIPs.

3.5    Media (website, social media)

SMTA has been cooperating with major domestic and international leisure, MICE industry and other medias to promote and market Shanghai through various channels like publishing advertorials, exposing Shanghai’s destination advertisements, reporting on the latest development of the MICE industry in the city. These medias include TripAdvisor, Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveller, CEI, MeetingsNet, TTG, MIX, TravelWeekly, MICE China, Forbes, EuroSport, Business Traveller Asia Pacific.

The official website of Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration (www.meet-inshanghai.net) is a practical and authoritative guide for visitors to Shanghai and those engaged in planning and organizing meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions (MICE) and events in Shanghai. The website has five languages English, Chinese, French, Japanese and Korean with English as its homepage language. The English version website attracts over 100,000 total visitors with two million hits every month. It is updated by SICMO on daily basis with what is going on in Shanghai with a focus on the meetings and events industry in the city.

Additionally, ever since 2010, SMTA and SICMO also produce E-newsletter twice a week and a bi-monthly E-Magazine on the latest development of the meetings industry in Shanghai and are distributed among over 7000 industry people from home and abroad. Both E-newsletter and E-Magazine are available in English, Chinese and Japanese languages. Shanghai’s MICE WeChat was also launched in January, 2013. It is pushed to about 3000 subscribers twice a week.

Industry medias from around the world are invited to do Shanghai Familiarisation (Fam-) tours on a regular basis. After the Fam-tours, all the invited travel writers and journalists are requested to report on the hardware and software of Shanghai’s MICE industry.

4    Creating and using events for Shanghai’s MICE-marketing

4.1    China (Shanghai) International Meetings & Conferences Forum

The idea of organizing China (Shanghai) International Meetings & Conferences Forum (CIMCF) was first put forward in SMTA’s bidding document for the 52nd ICCA Congress. In our bid, SMTA promised to inaugurate an annual forum as of 2011. This new forum would offer local industry players the chance to exchange knowledge and experience with similar peers. The forum, leading up to the 52nd ICCA Congress in 2013 targeted estimated delegates at 150 for the first year and then with a gradual increment in target to estimated 250 in 2013.

The CIMCF took place in April, 2011 as scheduled and attracted over 200 delegates. Since it is becoming increasingly popular with the industry people, SMTA is encouraged to organize the Forum even after the 52nd ICCA Congress.

2015 will mark its fifth anniversary. With the success of the first edition jointly hosted by the SMTA and Hangzhou Tourism Commission, and the other three editions jointly hosted by the SMTA and Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development, the CIMCF 2015 will be organized again by Shanghai International Conference Management Organization (SICMO). It will take place during April 15–17, 2015 at Shanghai International Convention Center. The CIMCF has been held in partnership with ICCA and supported by ICCA China Committee (Mainland) and aims to strengthen the international exchanges, share the international and domestic development trends and improve the professional standards of all the players in the meetings and tourism industry. Economists, industry professionals and experts from both international and domestic associations have been invited to share the knowledge and experience with all the delegates (http://en.cimcf.org/congress/en/index.shtml).

4.2    Shanghai Business Events Week

Shanghai Business Events Week was initiated by the SMTA in 2011 as part of its endeavour to carry out the decisions made at the Shanghai Tourism Industry Development Conference and promote the development of Shanghai’s meetings and tourism industry. It is designed to provide access to the professionals of the meetings and tourism industry of China. The exhibitions, forums, training workshops and networking activities offer a great opportunity for the professionals and experts from hotels, travel agencies, PCOs & DMCs, meetings services suppliers, universities and PR firms to benefit from each other’s ideas and experiences and strike deals. It is an exciting week of industry business, education and networking events when the MICE industry of the world comes together in Shanghai. Events taking place in middle April in 2014 include the China (Shanghai) International Meetings & Conferences Forum (CIMCF), IT & CM China (Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings China), IT&CM China Association Day, IMEX-MPI-MCI Future Leaders Forum, ICCA Association Database Workshop, TTG China Travel Awards, Association Professionals Competencies Briefing, etc.

China (Shanghai) International Meetings & Conferences Forum (CIMCF) Learn how to organize and manage meetings and events successfully and professionally in China. Get expert advice through keynote speeches, panel discussions, educational presentations and case studies at this one-and-a-half day forum.

IT & CM China (Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings China) Since 2007, IT&CM China has established itself as China’s leading international Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) business, education and networking event, dedicated to “Promoting China to the World and the World to China”. Bringing together Chinese and International MICE exhibitors and buyers in one dynamic marketplace, IT&CM China is the platform for international and leading Chinese players in the MICE industry to explore business opportunities on all fronts – inbound, outbound and domestic. Delegates to the 3-day event receive the best return on their investment in business, education and networking through structured business appointments, exhibition showcase, seminar sessions, official networking functions and tours. IT&CM China is part of the IT&CM Events series organized by TTG Events, a business group of TTG Asia Media. This event is co-organized by CITS International M.I.C.E. – a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITS (China International Travel Service), and MP International.

IT&CM China Association Day It was a one-day specially structured Association programme consisting of tailored education, networking and business engagement sessions catered for association decision makers.

IMEX-MPI-MCI Future Leaders Forum It was aimed at nurturing the future leaders of the MICE industry, this full-day program is catered to students pursuing degrees in meetings and events management, tourism or related business or administration studies. It offers the best and brightest students a chance to experience real-life industry challenges and an insightful glimpse into a dynamic MICE career. This event is held in conjunction with IT&CMChina 2014.

TTG China Travel Awards The TTG China Travel Awards has been recognizing the best of Greater China’s travel industry since 2008. This prestigious annual event honors stellar Travel Suppliers across Airlines, Hotels & Resorts, Serviced Residences and Travel Services segments in the region. Respected as one of the travel industry’s most prestigious travel awards, The 7th Annual TTG China Travel Awards 2014 will applaud 60 exemplary industry partners for their success in maintaining quality standards to ensure a stellar experience for all. This TTG Travel Trade Publishing event is proudly organized by TTG China, with the support of TTG-BTmice China, TTG Asia, TTG India, TTGmice, and TTG Asia Luxury.

Association Professionals Competencies Briefing It was specially tailored for personnel working in societies and associations. Association Professionals Competencies Briefing is a higher education program based on the internationally acclaimed Certified Association Executive (CAE®) designation. It is co–offered by the Australasian Society of Association Executives and the Canadian Society of Association Executives. Hundreds of professionals have benefited from the CAE® programme. (http://www.itcmchina.com/article.php?article_id=2948).

4.3    Calendar of events

SMTA and SICMO have been producing Calendar of Events in Shanghai every year since 2008. It lists most of the exhibitions, major meetings and conferences, sport events, cultural and tourism festivals and events available at the beginning of every year. The Calendar of Events in Shanghai has proved to be very popular among all the industry people. They make full use of the information listed in the calendar to find business opportunities. It is distributed in early January every year among the industry people in Shanghai and at domestic and international industry trade shows.

4.4    Attending major domestic and international MICE industry trade shows

Every year, in order to further promote and market Shanghai as a popular MICE destination, local industry players and partners join SMTA to co-exhibit and participate in major domestic and international MICE industry trade shows including IT & CM China in April in Shanghai, China Incentives, Business Travel and Meetings Expo (CIBTM) in September in Beijing, Asia Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) in February in Melbourne of Australia, IMEX in May in Frankfurt of Germany, EIBTM in late November or early December in Barcelona of Spain. Through attending the industry trade shows, both SMTA’s staff and industry people from Shanghai will get to know the industry’s development trends in the world and meet buyers to get potential leads for the city as well as for the participating organizations and companies.

5    Conclusion

Through the above ten initiatives and programs launched by SMTA for the past 14 years, Shanghai has become an increasingly popular MICE destination in Asia Pacific region as well as in the world. Shanghai has received various awards including the “Best MICE Destination” Award at TTG China Travel Awards in 2010, the “IFEA World Festival & Event City” Award by the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) in 2011, the “Meeting & Incentive Destination (China) of the Year” Award at China Travel & Meetings Industry Award in 2013, the “2014 Edition of the Travellers’ Choice Destinations Awards” in both 2013 and 2014. The scheduled opening of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), Shanghai Disneyland and Shanghai Tower in 2015 will have great impact on the city’s MICE industry. SMTA will spare no efforts to further market and promote Shanghai and help to build Shanghai into a world famous destination for both leisure and business travellers.

6    Literature

Cimcf, http://en.cimcf.org/congress/en/index.shtml)

ICCA, http://www.iccaworld.com ICCA Statistic Report 2014

Itcma, www.itcmchina.com/article.php?article_id=2948)

Report on Shanghai’s International Meetings

The Management & Service Standards of the Conference Industry, Part 1: Conference Organizers