The annual China Conference & Business Travel Fair (CCBTF), organized by the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, has officially received a full endorsement from the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).
The endorsement marks the culmination of efforts to further position Shanghai as a leading hub for conferences, the ICCA said. This decision was made during a meeting between Patrick Chen, director of marketing and promotion department, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, with ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath and ICCA Regional Director for Asia Pacific Noor Ahmad Hamid last month in Shanghai.
The first CCBTF was held in 2011 and was part of Shanghai's strategic roadmap to stimulate the growth of international meetings business in its effort to bid for the ICCA Congress. Previously known as the “China International Meetings & Conferences Forum (CIMCF)”, the event rebranded to the “China Conference & Business Travel Forum & Fair (CCBTF)” in 2016. The two-day event focusses on industry engagement and has been introduced by Shanghai in partnership with other ICCA member cities, ultimately generating greater interest in ICCA activities among local associations and the meetings industry. As part of the efforts of Shanghai to enhance knowledge development and industry engagement, the city hosted the 52nd ICCA Congress in 2013, which was the first time an annual ICCA Congress was held in China.
CCBTF is the primary educational forum for local industry professionals to stimulate knowledge exchange, business development and networking. The forum attracts over 500 meetings industry stakeholders from across China and brings together a line-up of global speakers and delegates from the meetings industry to discuss key issues, exchange industry ideas and create business and networking opportunities.
CCBTF features TED Talks, knowledge-sharing, buyers-meet-sellers sessions and the release of the annual China Business Travel Report. The event also features trending meetings industry topics such as meetings technology, destination promotion, digital strategy, experiential design as well as a training program specially catered to young meeting industry professionals.
ICCA CEO, Senthil Gopinath indicated: "We acknowledge that China is an important market for ICCA's membership growth and this endorsement is a testament of our commitment to engage more actively with Shanghai. It is my fervent hope that this endorsement will enable Shanghai to focus more concertedly on the international association meetings business segment."
The CCBTF 2020 will be held September 23-24 at Shanghai International Convention Centre.
Photo: ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath (l) and Mr. Patrick Chen (r), Director of Marketing and Promotion Department, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, shake hands in Shanghai to confirm their extended partnership.
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