The number of international association meetings held in mainland China in 2000 was just 83, which rose to 245 in 2009. Beijing alone hosted 96, according to the International Congress and Convention Association.
None of this has been lost on American hoteliers.
Interest in meeting in the world’s most popular nation is growing, as those figures show.
China’s government is no stranger to this development.
“The government has recently begun to realize the value of the meetings industry,” Haiying Lieu, CEO of the China National Convention Center, told Meetings & Conventions.
That development is also reflected in the number of new hotels sprouting up all over the country, including:
—Hyatt Hotels Corp. is doubling the number of properties it plans to open in China from 11 to 22.
—Starwood Hotels says it is adding 86 new properties to its already existing 62 hotels. Almost one-third of the company’s new hotels are opening in China this year.
—Both Marriott International and InterContinental Hotels Group announced they would double their current properties in the next few years.
One of China’s attractions for hotels is simply population: it has 177 cities with more than one million residents, most of which don’t have a major hotel.
Along with the hotels have come new exhibit and trade halls that are helping to entice meeting planners.
By David Wilkening
