Hotels in Shanghai are quickly filling this week with delegates from around the world converging for the China International Travel Mart 2006.

Sunny Paw, Vice President Sales and Marketing at Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, says, "CITM is a contact and networking show and is a good platform for us to promote the Shangri-La brand given our focus in the Chinese market. It is a very good place to meet old friends and foster new relationships. It is also a venue to gather information that may lead to new business opportunities in the coming year."

CITM is the biggest hospitality and travel event of the year in China and is held alternatively between Kunming and Shanghai each year. Most industry veterans seem to enjoy the Shanghai event more because of the kind of attendees it attracts.

Willie K.H. Ooi, Senior Vice President at Gloria International Hotels, says "Basically, the Shanghai venue tends to attract more buyers, especially from overseas. Also, with the large number of MNCs based in Shanghai, we do tend to get more enquiries whenever the show returns to Shanghai. Kunming has its strengths but Shanghai still has the stronger 'pull factor' without a doubt.

But Norman Rafelson, General Manager of the Regent Shanghai says CITM appears to have changed. He says, "Over the past few years, CITM has slowed in pace and this could be due to a number of reasons including economic and world events, for example the 2003 SARs outbreak. With many new international managed hotels scheduled to open in the primary cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, we are starting to see international chain hotels becoming more actively involved in international travel trade shows in Asia, which will also be evident at this year's CITM event in Shanghai."

CITM is being held from November 16-19 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.