Ibtm china, which is set to take place in August next year, has reported a huge surge in international exhibitors – up over 45 per cent year-on-year at its September 2016 edition.

With China recently overtaking the US as the number one business travel market in the world and double digit growth predicted for the Chinese market in 2016, the trend looks set to continue, according to CiCi Chen, senior project manager for ibtm china, part of leading global exhibition organiser, ibtm events’ portfolio.

Chen said: “As a result of the booming business travel industry, the Mice market in China continues to evolve and grow very rapidly. We’ve seen the direct impact of this at our annual event, ibtm china.

“Our 11th edition, in September 2016, was our most successful yet, with over 5,500 attendees and 7,700 pre-scheduled appointments; up over 10 per cent against 2015. In particular we’ve seen a huge surge in international exhibitors – up in 2016 by over 45 per cent against the previous year. This is mirrored by a large increase in the number of domestic Hosted Buyers – up by almost one third (29.5 per cent) compared with 2015.”

Talking about ibtm china, Chen said: “With more international organisations than ever before targeting the Chinese market, it’s essential that Chinese cultural nuances and ways of doing business are understood and adhered to, in order to get the best return.

"With an experienced events team on the ground here in China, the itinerary for the event has been specifically designed to ensure the very best environment for doing business in the region, as evidenced by feedback from our attendees which includes:

"The quality of the exhibition is always very good. We’ve been very busy with great quality appointments”, from Chris Yan, director of Mice and Leisure Sales, Greater China, Melia Hotels International and: “We have a full list of business opportunities for ibtm china”, from David Yang, regional sales manager, Greater China, Aeroflot Russian Airlines.”

“Given that the Mice industry here in China is still relatively young, we place heavy investment in inspiring and educating future industry leaders. Our market-leading knowledge programme continues to be extremely popular, with an increase of over 40 per cent on attendee numbers year-on-year in 2016.

“Ongoing improvements to the country’s infrastructure, exponential levels of hotel and venue development and government support for the industry means that it remains on a steep upward trajectory. Plans for our 2017 show are already well underway and we’re expecting the next event to be even bigger and more successful,” chen added

Ibtm china is the number one event for the region’s Mice industry, gathering over 5,500 meetings industry professionals from around the world. The event uses ibtm events’ bespoke ‘matchmaking’ software to provide each hosted buyer with a pre-arranged schedule of meetings to ensure their time at the show offers a strong ROI.

Exhibitors include international venues, hotels, destinations, technology, business travel and events services providers and the show attracts buyers, event planners and all those involved in the decision making process for meetings, events, conferences, incentives, as well as those involved in booking and buying business travel/group travel. - TradeArabia News Service