Northern exposure

Hosting APEC meeting leverages Huairou ability to hold more events

Beijing will expand its convention and exhibition industry to the less-developed, northern suburbs by taking the opportunity of hosting the 2014 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in its Huairou district.

"In the past, the majority of the international conferences or summits were held in the center of Beijing, such as Chang'an Avenue, or around the 2008 Olympic legacy areas such as the China National Convention Center," said Wang Yue, deputy head of the Beijing Tourism Commission.

"In the next round of city planning, we will consider tapping the different potential of different areas. For the convention industry, we are hoping that more high-level international events will be held in northern parts of the capital such as the Huairou and Changping districts."

"With the opportunity of preparing for APEC, Huairou district has built many convention sites and related facilities, which will leverage its capability of undertaking more international conventions and exhibitions in the future," Wang said.

Wang said the move will also help solve the traffic problems downtown as well as optimize the structure of the high-end tourism industry.

Huairou made the headlines on Dec 8, 2013, when authorities announced that the Beijing Huairou International Conference Center, located at the scenic Yanqi Lake area, had been chosen to host this year's meeting of APEC's leaders.

During the preparation period, Huairou upgraded its facilities and services. According to Chang Wei, the head of Huairou district, its transport network will be connected more conveniently to the neighboring areas and main roads. The environment, tourism facilities as well as service industries will also be improved. For an example, the scenic Mutianyu Great Wall area has been expanded from 8 square kilometers to 24 sq km.

Huairou is also pushing to develop its convention and exhibition industry, which will take advantage of the APEC legacy to cater to high-end meetings, conferences, summits, exhibitions and other international events.

Other districts are also working hard to build their conference and recreation sectors when APEC draws worldwide attention to Beijing's suburbs.

Wu Shaoyuan, chief international conference expert of China CYTS MICE Service Co Ltd, said holding international events can help the strengths of the convention and exhibition industry, especially for Beijing's suburbs.

"For example, Changping district held the 7th International Strawberry Symposium in 2012, which leveraged the strawberry industry in Changping," Wu said. "Before this symposium, Changping didn't have strawberries in the winter. About 1.6 billion yuan ($ 261.8) was invested to improve the agricultural infrastructure.

"And those events were opportunities to showcase the local tourism resources and prove that those districts are capable of hosting those events."

Despite these advantages and potential, industry insiders said Beijing is facing competition from other cities and needs to improve its environment and provide financial and policy support to attract more international conventions and exhibitions.

According to a report released by the Ministry of Commerce, Beijing ranked third in an overall assessment of 124 cities in terms of the development of their convention and exhibition industry in 2013, placed behind Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Wu said the capital's heavy smog is a very important reason hindering its bid to host more international events, especially in October when the air quality raises public health concerns.

suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/10/2014 page33)