China’s exhibition and meeting industry potential is extraordinary

By Cliff Wallace

Mr. Wallace is an established and proven veteran with over 50 years in the public assembly venue industry. Cliff is Managing Director of NWS Venue Management Ltd. in Hong Kong， a private company offering consultation related to the design， management and operation of convention and exhibition centres. He also serves as the Chairman of Shenyang New World Expo Management Ltd. and the Vice Chairman of Hong Kong – Shanghai Venue Management （Zhengzhou） Ltd.， companies responsible for the management and operation of the Shenyang New World Expo （opened in March 2017 in Liaoning Province， PRC） and Zhengzhou International Exhibition & Convention Centre （Henan Province， PRC） respectively.

As I travel around the world attending professional exhibition and meeting venue association meetings， I am regularly asked what the exhibition and meeting venue industry is like in China. There is normally an assumption that has already been made by those asking this question； they assume there are big differences in China compared to other countries.

There are two fairly standard answers that I use to respond to this question.

First， I express my professional opinion and optimism that China has the greatest potential for industry growth of any country. This includes the improvement of venue standards as well as exhibition/meeting event standards exercised in the venues. I have observed and been personally involved in this growth within the mainland for the past 13 years gaining valuable experience from the management and operations of two mainland venues. Previous to this， I carefully observed Chinas growth in the industry from 1995 when our professional venue management company oversaw the expansion of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and increase in this international venues level of activity.

Secondly， I express my general observations relative to the many challenges Chinas industry faces as it relates to external intervention which continues to adversely impact a truly market driven industry. Said another way， growth is being slowed many times， and not only in China， by bureaucratic processes that severely reduce the potential positive economic impact that could ultimately be generated by the industry. Such intervention also has an enormous negative impact on the potential level of foreign investment in Chinas industry though that investment does continue.

I have never expected that industry standards from other countries would dictate Chinas exhibition and meeting venue industry or the events that are held within them. That would be unrealistic. However， I believe that more international standards， those that are clearly creating growth in the industries of other countries， could be considered more seriously and implemented to enhance and grow Chinas industry.

I do understand the fact that a country wants to be different at times and that a countrys cultural related pride and face are important. The question becomes： does pinned up industry demand and potential impact of nurturing that demand justify thinking and planning more “outside the box” and doing so without so often trying to reinvent the wheel？

By way of example， lets consider briefly the worlds most successful exhibition and meeting venues and a few major factors that have made those venues so successful：

Market feasibility

Few businesses will create a market. Market feasibility， or establishing existing demand for a business， is a critical first step. Feasibility must be conducted by professionals that are unbiased and it must be accomplished on the basis of market and business reality. If market feasibility is not obvious， it is even more critical to conclude， by way of valid feasibility research， that there is potential demand. We are irresponsible if we do not look at the hundreds of exhibition and meeting venues in the world and see that the old adage， “build it and they will come” is not true or justification for investing billions in commercial or public funding to build a venue. I will also caution that “occupancy” data for venues around the world is often skewed by less than ethical standards being applied to the calculation of that data. Too many reports to justify venues have been produced over the years to say what was desired to be heard and presented to government and in the media， not to produce facts from genuine research to justify a venue in response to real market demand.

Venue location and access

There is an amazing element of common sense that seems to be missing when we look at the location of hundreds of venues around the world and realize the remote location and/ or challenges with access to those venues. For example， we find venues close to airports， sometimes far out of the city， and then find that the majority of the potential users and visitors drive or need public transportation to the venue. Another example is venues in the city centers trapped by access restrictions， space challenges and subject to regulations prohibiting truck traffic during key event move-in and move-out periods. It is my professional opinion that access to a venue is one of the most critical factors in determining the best location and it simply comes down to answering a question using common sense： is it convenient and reasonably easy for the visitors， guests， and truck deliveries from the locations where the majority of users will need to travel from （hotels， neighboring cities， airport， train stations， supplier warehouses， etc.）？ And very important is that there are sufficient means of public transportation to the venue during hours of operation. This is a prime consideration when site selection committees consider a venue for major conferences and other meetings. It is a key ingredient for the success of public exhibitions and also trade shows that cater to buyers staying in local hotels.

Consideration of venue use by locals to enhance a communitys quality of life

Some of the most successful， vibrant and active exhibition and meeting venues throughout the world are those that are designed and located with the community in mind as well as the exhibition and meeting related events. If the conditions that will enhance the communitys quality of life are met when planning and designing a venue， those conditions can normally be advantageous to increasing the demand for exhibitions and meetings. This is especially true for the conditions summarized above as to location and access. Just as the communitys citizens are dependent on efficient infrastructure to navigate through a city and conveniently and safely reach a location， so are the customers of the venues events whether they come by walking and/ or vehicular and public transportation. A big mistake that has been common in the past is planning a venue for the sole purpose of exhibition and meetings and not integrating its benefits to the advantage of the public for local events when available. Again， to see a venue working well for the community will present many reasons that a site selection committee would choose a destination for a conference or other meeting. Dont ever be mistaken that it is only the venue that determines the selection for an exhibition or meeting， no matter how impressive the venue or its management may be.

Government industry education and understanding

Having worked within the industry for over 50 years， I am shocked so often to learn in my travels and while advising governments how little representatives of government understand about the industry. Seldom are clear objectives established， understood and agreed when planning a venue. Feasibility is too many times completely overlooked. Professional venue design by experienced architects to include master planning and venue competitive advantages are rarely emphasized. I could continue this list of concerns； they bring me to a conclusion that I always share with others. That is that government and/or venue owner entities should secure the services of professionals on the planning and design teams that will take the data from professional feasibility reports and guide the process while educating officials along the way. And this process must continue through the venues opening and ongoing operations to address the regular personnel changes that occur in government since an adequate understanding must drive the decisions on such things as future capital improvements and potential expansion to ensure the venue maintains a competitive advantage.

Elimination of unreasonable intervention

This is a sensitive area indeed. Notwithstanding， Government and the industry together should be responsible and professional enough to confront the challenges of intervention， including unreasonable application of unrelated regulations. This occurs far too often by bureaus， agencies， departments， officials and individuals that simply do not understand the meeting and exhibition industry and the importance of a venues potential economic impact to a municipality in which the venue is located. It should always be the norm that governments educate their representative to the fact that established industry norms and standards are important to a venues financial results and competitiveness. While safety should always be a priority for example， industry standards are in place to deal with this and should be implemented rather than subjecting a venue to random application and interpretation by so many external entities. This also applies to such critical operating areas as fire services， security， and licencing（rentals/scheduling）. It is unreasonably and abnormal intervention that can increase business risks， reduce activity and positive economic impact， and is the greatest deterrent to foreign investment in the industry.

Staff professional development

With the existence of a quality venue， there is no internal priority greater than staff training and professional development. Similarly， the finest most expensive aircraft in the world can only maximize its revenue yield and be operated safely through the deployment of a professionally trained operating， maintenance， marketing and executive leadership team. Training and professional development must be ongoing. Venue staff can benefit from training and professional development opportunities through such associations as IAEE， IAVM， VMA and UFI. The potential advantages from the investment of operating funds in this area cannot be overstated.

In conclusion， Chinas exhibition and meeting industry potential is extraordinary. A commitment to understanding the industry better and proactively addressing the known challenges are an opportunity that can have enormous positive impact on many.

（The author is Chairman of Shenyang New World EXPO （Management） Limited）