The current development of Beijing’s convention and exhibition
industry
Abstract
(1) Overall development situation of the convention exhibition and industry
Being China’s political, cultural and international exchange centre, Beijing is the
preferred choice of many multinational enterprises, foreign embassies, national
ministries and most importantly, the melting pot for information and technology,
which naturally contributes to the development of the exhibition industry.
In these last few years, Beijing has proved to be the leader in the country as a
multi-purpose city with great influence, with the amount, scale, quality and level of
the international exhibitions hosted. Various exhibitions, of different types and
durations, are properly distributed and a 5 times increased is observed in international
conventions hosted in Beijing. Among the large-scale international exhibitions, the
more mature fields are automobile, machinery, telecommunications, textile machines,
printing, metallic, cooling machines, calculators and garments and apparels.
Compared to 2000, the number of conventions hosted in 2002 has increased 125%,
while the number of exhibitions increased 57%. Even with the SARS epidemic in
2003, the total number of conventions hosted still maintained a 30% growth.
Overview of Conventions and Exhibitions venues hosted in Beijing from 1996 to 2003
Exhibition
Proj
ect
Convention
Domestic
International
exhibitions
exhibitions
Total
Year
Total
Domestic International
2000
302
115
187
363
306
57
2002
475
84
391
818
528
290
2003
392
82
310
1063
678
385
Source: Statistical Report on the development of Beijing’s exhibition industry
(i) The Olympics will enhance the hardware upgrade of the exhibition industry
After the Olympics, the large amount of venues can be used for conventions and
exhibition purposes. At the same time, facilities like a convention centre will be
established in the Olympic Park, which will act as a new city functional zones
equipped with various services for business and commerce, exhibition, travel and
leisure. To be ready for the Olympics, the 220,000m2 China International
Exhibition Centre will soon be established in Beijing. The construction of all these
advanced multi-purpose facilities will greatly enhance the supply and improve the
quality of existing ill-equipped exhibition and convention facilities.
Beijing will also invest a large sum of capital to improve transportation,
telecommunication, energy, city infrastructure as well as other supporting services
facilities. Bigger will also used efforts be used in handling environment pollution
and improving the ecological environment. All these measures are deemed to turn
Beijing into a modern city before the Olympics, with a graceful environment,
convenient transportation and the communication network and sufficient tourist
reception facilities, providing sound hardware conditions for the development of
the exhibition industry.
(ii) The Olympics will provide Beijing with valuable resources, raising the
city’s fame
Resources and a city’s fame are key factors for the development of the
exhibition industry. The fact that Beijing won the bid to host the Olympics has
put the city in the spotlight on the international platform, giving Beijing a
whole lot more opportunities to communicate with the world. Due to the new
opportunities arisen in the market, increasingly some many domestic and
foreign exhibition companies plan to host various exhibitions in the capital
city.
(iii)
The Olympics offers new market and brands to Beijing’s exhibition
industry
“Green Olympics, High-Tech Olympics, People’s Olympics” are the three main
themes of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In order to demonstrate these three
Olympic concepts to the whole world, Beijing is currently organizing various
conventions and exhibitions related to these themes. It is estimated that
conventions and exhibitions on environmental protection industry, people’s
culture and sport industry will bring new dimensions to the development of
Beijing’s exhibition industry.
(2) Factors affecting the development of the sport industry after the Olympics
Sporting event industry
According to the operation of current Beijing’s sports competition and
performance industry, large-scale competitions include Chinese Super League,
CBA, China Open (Tennis), Beijing Marathon, China Open (Table-tennis) and
Tour de Beijing International Road Cycling Race, etc. After the Game, the huge
intangible asset of the Olympics itself coupled with abundant venues facilities
will facilitate the development of Beijing’s professional sports industry,
attracting even more famous international contests to be held in Beijing.
Moreover, with an increase in living standard and health awareness together with
the improvement in the construction of venues and conditions of the fitness and
entertainment industry, the industry will further developed. As a result, there is a
great developing potential for the sporting event industry when the Olympics is
over.
Sports convention exhibition
After 2008, Beijing can count on its modern Olympic stadiums to continuously
host the annual China International Sporting Goods Show and gradually convert
Beijing’s Olympic Park into an international and the biggest multi-purpose
convention and exhibition centre in Asia, so as to turn Beijing’s exhibition
industry into a new source of economic growth.
(3) The tourism industry development of previous host cities after the Olympics
Overlooking the tourism industry development of previous host cities before and
after the Olympics, one might notice that the peak number of tourists does not
take place during the year of the Olympics. Contribution to the host city came
mainly from the hardware upgrade of the tourism industry development and the
host city’s image boost after the Game. On the other hand, the government policy
of the host country as well as the host city mainly focuses on the development of
the tourism industry after the Games. Generally speaking, hosting the Olympic
Games contributes to the development of the most host cities’ tourism industry,
especially the economic sustainable development of inbound tourism?
(i)
SWOT analysis of the post-Olympics tourism industry development in
Beijing
Even though the big wave of tourists brought by the Olympics will
disappear when the Game is over, the Olympics will still leave Beijing
abundant Olympic “heritage”, namely a comprehensive upgrade in the
city’s infrastructure, tourism reception facilities and tourism services
standard, which in turn will increase the competitiveness of Beijing’s
tourism industry. However, there is also the risk of idling the large number
of reception facilities after the Olympics.
SWOT analysis of the post-Olympics tourism industry development in Beijing
Strengths


Abundant tourism reception facilities
Weaknesses

Monotonous tourism products; after
（e.g. hotels, roads, airports, public
the Game, international visitors’
toilets, etc.）.
travel expenditure will mainly
Increasing the high-class tourism
concentrate on cultural sightseeing
reception facilities (e.g. large scale
tourism products.
convention and exhibition centre,

The integration of travel agencies,
world-class hotels, etc.).
hotels, scenic spots; low quality of

Better tourism services standard.
chain stores services; large gap

Increasing the quality and quantity of
between tourism services standard
tourism resources (e.g. Olympics
and international standard; all these
heritage, etc.).
are unlikely to be improved after the
Improving the city’s infrastructure
Olympics.

and natural environment.
Opportunities

The city image boost brought about
Threats

by the Olympics is likely to last long.

The good economic development
Post-Olympics supply of tourism
reception facilities exceeds demand.

Origin of tourists being diverted by
situation after the Games will drive
the Shanghai World Expo. (Shanghai
the development of domestic travel
is located at the Yangtze River Delta.
and outbound tourism.
With the rich tourism resources and
economic development in Jiangsu and
Zhejiang, there is no doubt that a
significant group of tourists will be
diverted to Shanghai.
(ii)
Estimation of the number of tourists and their origin after the
Olympics
Inbound Tourism
In 2005, the total number of inbound tourists received by the city is
3.629 million, representing a 15% increase. The total revenue from
tourism amounts to USD 3.62 billion, up 14% compared to the previous
year.
Estimation of inbound tourists to Beijing after the Olympic Games
Year
2008
2009
2010
Estimated number
4.13
4.339
4.547
of tourist (Million)
Since this estimation did not take into account the effects Olympics has on
Beijing’s tourism industry, the numbers shown is a very conservative estimation.
According to the target set by the Beijing Tourism Administration, the number of
tourists Beijing will receive in 2008 reached 4.63 million, while the figure for
2009 and 2010 will be similar to that of 2008.
In scale, the Asian tourism market is the largest. In 2005, the number of Asian
tourists received by Beijing amounted 1.113 million, which is 43.4% of all
inbound tourists. The European, American, Australasian and African market takes
up 29.5% , 18.7% , 3.4% and 0.7% respectively, with the remaining 3.9% from
other regions.
(ii) Overview of scenic spots after the Olympics
In order to improve the quality of Beijing’s scenic spots prompted by the
Olympics, the Beijing Tourism Administration has started to modify, renovate
and repair a lot of existing historical and cultural tourist attractions, creating
numerous unique travel routes with rich cultural value. Furthermore, the city will
develop a series of new natural scenic sports such as Jingcheng Shuixi and natural
garden so as to improve the natural environment in the suburban area and bring
new dimensions to the tourism industry. After the Olympics, the number and
quality of both historical and cultural attractons for international and non-Beijing
tourists as well as natural attractions and facilities for citizen’s recreation and
entertainment will be improved. Below is a list of changes in the provision of
attractions with the Olympic Games.
Olympics related attractions
 The newly-built National Centre for the Performing Arts, the National
Art Museum of China Phase 2, the China Science and Technology
Cultural tourist attractions
Museum Phase 3, the Capital Museum, China, the new CCTV Building,
the new BTV Building and other important cultural facilities.
 Modified classic tourist spots such as Liuli Factory, Dazhalan and
Qianmen Pedestrian Walk.
 Renovated historical relics such as Zhongzhou Road, Old Imperial City,
Chao Fu Road, Guozijian Street, Shichahai, the ruins of the Old Summer
Palace and the Beijing City Wall relics of the Ming Dynasty.
 Olympic heritage attractions such as the newly-established Olympic
Natural attractions
Village, Beijing National Stadium and Olympic Museum
 The construction of tourist facilities in scenic attractions like the
Longqing Gorge and the Kangxi grassland.
 The establishment of Jingcheng Shuixi, natural garden, theme parks and
agricultural park.
(iii) Supply of tourism products after the Olympics Games
Being the national cultural and political centre, Beijing has an impressive
historical and cultural heritage as well as modern cultural scenic spots. This is
why cultural tourism has long been a significant tourism product in Beijing and
its status is believed to remain unchanged after the Game. However, owing to the
increase in the city’s fame, as well as the improvement in infrastructure and
tourism reception facilities, especially when it comes to large-scale convention
and exhibitions, convention facilities and world class hotels, Beijing’s
competitiveness in hosting large-scale sports events, conferences and exhibitions
has also been enhanced. As a result, Beijing will be more likely to host such
events and the number of tourism products in the field of exhibitions and
conventions, as well as sports tourism will also soar. Furthermore, due to the
Olympic Games, many Chinese people, especially Beijing citizens, will be more
interested in sports. Some recreational events and leisure tourism events are
expected to become new attractions for domestic tourists and Beijing’s residents.
The Olympics will also attract a huge number of foreign investment opportunities
for Beijing. With the business opportunities brought about by the investment,
business tourism will enter a whole new era after the Olympics.
Sources:
Beijing’s Prospects, “The sustainable development of important service industries after 2008”, 6
November 2006
http://big5.bjoe.gov.cn/hayjj/wz/200705/t176957_3.htm