City on track to be leading exhibition hub
Zhu Min, director of the Shanghai Commission of Commerce, awards Marsha Flanagan and Antonio Bruzzone, as international advisers of the city's exhibition and convention industries.
Two leading international experts have been honored to offer advice on Shanghai's development as a global exhibition and convention hub.
At the Global Exhibition CEO Shanghai Summit 2024 which concluded on Friday, Antonio Bruzzone, CEO of BolognaFiere Group, and Marsha Flanagan, president and CEO of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, were honored by the Shanghai Commerce Commission as international advisers of the city's exhibition and convention industries.
At last year's forum, 17 representatives from global exhibition trade associations, exhibition enterprises and consultancies were awarded the title.
Flanagan said Shanghai is a vibrant city where creativity and innovation are omnipresent, and she praised the city's entrepreneurial spirit, financial muscle, and unwavering commitment to progress.
According to Kai Hattendorf, CEO of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, Shanghai stands as the center of China's exhibition and convention industries, and it links China with Asian and the global industrial landscape.
Statistics show that Shanghai has held 161 exhibitions and conventions in the first five months this year, and the total capacity of this year is expected to exceed that in 2019.
Last year, Shanghai unveiled a three-year plan to become a global exhibition and convention hub by 2025, when the total exhibition area will reach 22 million square meters and 80 percent of exhibitions are international.
The Global Exhibition CEO Shanghai Summit is recognized by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry as a top three high-end industry forum in the world.
In its eighth year, this year's event opened on Thursday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center under the theme of "Elevating and Advancing – Seizing Strategic Opportunities in a World of Challenges."
It attracted 320 executives, officials and industry leaders to discuss hot topics like "challenges and opportunities in the evolving Chinese consumer market" and "digital-driven innovation in the industry."
