Sector replaces quantity with quality

When Chengdu city officials built the Global Centre and moved the centre of their exhibition industry to the south side of the city, they weren't making a play for the title of "Exhibition Centre of West China", they were expanding on an honour the city has owned for some time. 

There are exhibitions in Chengdu almost every month. From car shows to food and beverage fairs, international symposiums to national forums, the city of Chengdu rivals any in Asia for the number of exhibitions it holds, and the economic impact of those events. 

According to the Statistics Bureau of Chengdu, the city held 530 exhibitions and events last year, including 113 international conferences and 214 exhibitions, of which 49 were international events. Direct revenue generated by the exhibition industry reached 6.95 billion yuan (HK$8.5 billion), up 14.9 per cent year-on-year, while direct revenue from individual events rose to 13 million yuan, up 9 per cent year-on-year. Added value amounted to 31.1 billion yuan, accounting for 3.1 per cent of Chengdu's GDP and 6.1 per cent of the added value of the entire service sector.

The exhibition and conferences industry is pivoting in step with the trajectory of China's economy, moving from rampant expansion of space to a more refined expansion of quality services to take advantage of the vast numbers of companies and industries visiting Chengdu throughout the year. 

In November last year, the city issued a new standard for the exhibition industry in Chengdu - the second of its kind in China and the first local standard for the industry. The policy establishes a new foundation for the industry, which will maintain the quality of service while accelerating standardisation of companies in the sector.