The CIBTM Meetings Industry Report highlights that the 294 Chinese MICE Buyers who attended last year’s CIBTM event in Beijing had invested US$ 230 million in the previous year on hotels as meetings venues, predicting a big potential for growth this year as international hotel chains are the no. 1 service provider the Hosted Buyers want to meet face to face. In addition, 50% of the 374 Hosted Buyers who attended the event expressed an interest in placing business with hotels, ranked as the first choice of all products and services presented at CIBTM.

 

The research also identified that the overall combined annual budget of the accredited global Hosted Buyers - from the corporate sector, associations and other agencies - was US$ 32.6 billion - giving an average annual budget of US$ 28.7 million for each Hosted Buyer.

 

CIBTM 2014, the China Incentives, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition (www.cibtm.com), which takes place at the China National Convention Centre in Beijing. provides a gateway for international exhibitors to meet and expand their business into China.

 

Jacqui Timmins, Exhibition Director CIBTM, Reed Travel Exhibitions, commented, “It is great to see from our post-show research that buyers attending CIBTM are increasingly seeking new hotel venues, presenting a unique prospect for international hotel exhibitors looking to increase their customer base from China. CIBTM creates a platform for international hotels to showcase their properties to buyers and visitors from China, and from the rest of the world.”

 

“The in-depth research also highlights that Asian economies continue to demonstrate much higher investment figures than those from elsewhere in the world and outlines the growth of the MICE industry in Asia, and China in particular.  Furthermore, many associations are keen to expand their memberships in China, to ensure a collaborative approach in bidding for more international association meetings in the future,” Timmins continues.

 

The international hotel groups, who have already signed up for CIBTM 2014, have confirmed upcoming expansion plans across China and Asia and are returning to CIBTM to build on their business success of previous years and capitalize on the fact that Hosted Buyers, more than any other providers, want to be in touch with large international Hotel suppliers. They include Accor Hotels & Resorts, Langham Hospitality Group, The Okura Hotel Group and Wyndham Hotel Group.

 

Jack LIM, Regional Director of Sales & Marketing - China, Langham Hospitality Group commented, "As a hotel chain, our return on investment for exhibiting is very important to us. CIBTM successfully provides us with a large-scale platform to invest in, as it provides us access to valuable buyer contacts and various other business opportunities in the region and beyond. We have participated in CIBTM for the past five years and we are now looking forward to its future editions.”

 

Kitty Huang, Vice President - Global Sales, Asia Pacific, Wyndham Hotel Group, added, “We are pleased to be part of the 2014 CIBTM, the 4th participation since 2011. CIBTM has helped Wyndham Hotel Group in enhancing our brand awareness and connect us with the new & existing meeting and incentive buyers, which ultimately generate business leads for the hotels.”

Related News in Chinese: CIBTM研究报告显示中国会奖买家的年度酒店支出高达2.3亿美元