In the past year, the epidemic has caused major changes in the development environment of the convention and exhibition industry, and brought brand-new challenges and opportunities to convention and exhibition companies. Recently, the 7th International Exhibitor Voice Summit Forum and the Greater Bay Area Convention and Exhibition Innovation Summit (referred to as the conference) held at the Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center, as the first industry event of the Greater Bay Area Convention and Exhibition Industry in 2021, focuses on the exhibition industry under the epidemic The author has combed and found that the following aspects reflect the development, reform and operation trajectory of the convention and exhibition industry under the new economy.
First of all, the two-line convention and exhibition are in harmony and symbiosis. This development and transformation is due to the support of the government. On April 13, 2020, the Ministry of Commerce formally issued the "Notice on Innovating Exhibition Service Models and Cultivating New Drivers for the Development of the Exhibition Industry", requiring "actively build a new platform for online exhibitions and promote the integrated development of online and offline exhibitions." Holding online exhibitions has become a new opportunity for the development of the convention and exhibition industry. The official announcement of the 2020 Spring Canton Fair will be held online, which is a landmark event for online exhibitions. Immediately afterwards, many local governments issued support policies to support the development of online exhibitions in a targeted manner and provide a good policy environment for online exhibitions. At the same time, the industry quickly reflected and practiced. Internet giants including Tencent, Alibaba, and JD.com have entered across borders to provide strong technical support for online exhibitions. A group of exhibition event organizers responded quickly and embraced the changes, and tested online exhibitions before the online Canton Fair. Live broadcast, cloud show, cloud docking, cloud negotiation, cloud signing and other forms have achieved certain results. Undoubtedly, the epidemic has brought huge challenges to online exhibitions, but it has also forced organizers, exhibitors, audiences and other participants to make corresponding changes. The process of online exhibitions has been accelerated. The "two-line exhibition" model is gradually popularizing, which is also one of the key topics of this conference.
Second, high-quality development is at the right time. Information technology in the post-epidemic era has inspired Internet companies and information technology to transform and upgrade the exhibition industry.
Many small and medium-sized convention and exhibition enterprises and convention and exhibition projects have been severely impacted and eliminated. The influence and appeal of industry-leading exhibitions and brand exhibitions have been further strengthened. Exhibitors and visitors are concentrated in leading exhibitions, and the "Matthew effect" of the exhibition industry has been highlighted. As the national and provincial governments pay more and more attention to the convention and exhibition industry, more convention and exhibition policies related to convention and exhibition standardization, greening, brand building, laws and regulations will be introduced one after another to promote convention and exhibition brand building and further promote the healthy development of the industry. Recently, the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province commissioned the Guangdong Convention and Exhibition Organizing Enterprises Association to organize the identification and selecion of the top 100 convention and exhibition enterprises in Guangdong Province, to give play to the industry's demonstration effect, promote the high-quality development of Guangdong Province's convention and exhibition industry, and lead the construction of the Greater Bay Area convention and exhibition brand. In addition, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Commerce also commissioned the Guangdong Convention and Exhibition Organizing Enterprises Association to prepare for the Guangdong Convention and Exhibition Standardization Committee, which will increase the high-quality development of the Guangdong Convention and Exhibition industry.
Third, regional cooperation has been strengthened. The epidemic has exacerbated the incoordination of national convention and exhibition resources. There are industries without hosting, and hosting without markets, and the imbalance of supply and demand of exhibition halls has become prominent. In this context, some exhibition companies are seeking cross-regional cooperation. At the same time as the conference, the opening ceremony of Kunming Commerce (Shenzhen) Promotion Center and Oriental Global Exhibition Group South China Office was held, Qingdao West Coast New District held a special promotion meeting for the exhibition industry (Shenzhen), which attracted Oriental Global Exhibition Group, Chongqing International Expo Center, Pingshan Yanzihu International Convention and Exhibition Center, Nanhai International Convention and Exhibition Center, China Jiangsu Baima Agricultural International Expo Center, Hefei Binhu International Convention and Exhibition Center, Zhuhai International Convention and Exhibition Center and other venues have set up exhibition exhibition areas.
Finally, exhibition customer relationship management is paramount. Returning to the conference, we can focus on hot spots. It can be seen that customer relationship management is a topic of concern to the industry, and a good customer relationship is an important "weapon" for sustainable development of every exhibition company. For example, Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center held a customer briefing at the same time as the conference, sharing the business processes of venue operation, green operation, and smart service to the participating customers. In addition, it also deepens emotional communication with customers through face-to-face communication.
As an important part of my country's modern service industry, the convention and exhibition industry plays an important role in the new development pattern of "double cycle". The "14th Five-Year Plan" will be a key stage for my country to transform from a big convention and exhibition country to a strong convention and exhibition country. So during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, what development opportunities are facing the convention and exhibition industry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area? The author has a few simple opinions to exchange with the industry.
First, the macro environment is continuously optimized. The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China reiterated the basic national policy of opening up to the outside world, persisting in opening the country's doors for construction, and actively promoting international cooperation on the “Belt and Road” initiative. China has made full use of "home diplomacy" to demonstrate its international influence. The "G20 Hangzhou Summit", the "Belt and Road" International Cooperation Summit Forum, and the BRICS Xiamen Summit have been held successively, demonstrating China's strength to countries around the world. This year's government report proposed that a high-level opening to the outside world should be implemented, and major exhibitions such as the China International import Expo, the Canton Fair and the Service Trade Fair should be held well. This shows that in the new development pattern of "dual cycle", the functions of the exhibition platform will be more prominent and will play a greater function and role in promoting economic and trade.
The second is to improve the environment of hardware facilities in venue construction. The problem of low utilization rate of convention and exhibition venues has always been a pain point in the convention and exhibition industry, but for most of the exhibition halls in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, there is still a shortage of demand. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, after the completion of the second phase of the Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center, the total indoor exhibition area will reach 500,000 square meters; the fourth phase of the expansion of the Canton Fair Complex has started, and it is expected that after completion, the indoor exhibition area will reach 504,000 square meters. After these exhibition halls are put into use, the exhibition capacity of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will be further improved.
The third is to give birth to more emerging exhibition themes. With the development of the social environment, some new exhibition themes have emerged: For example, the country vigorously promotes "new infrastructure", 5G, Internet of Things, industrial Internet, satellite Internet, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, blockchain, intelligent transportation foundation The construction of new infrastructure such as infrastructure, smart energy infrastructure, major technology infrastructure, science and education infrastructure, industrial technology innovation infrastructure, etc., is expected to reach tens of trillions of yuan in investment in the next five years. As a result, it can be foreseen that in the future, convention and exhibition projects centered on "new infrastructure" will usher in benefits, a number of original projects may usher in rapid growth, and a number of new projects will continue to emerge. In addition, the epidemic has caused an impact on many industries, but crises often give birth to new opportunities. Some industries have grown against the trend under the epidemic, such as medical and health (medicine, online medical treatment, epidemic prevention materials, etc.), e-commerce live broadcast and other industries have gained With rapid development, a number of exhibition projects with emerging themes have emerged.
Fourth, exhibitions have formed a trend of cross-border integration development. This includes the cross-border integration of convention and exhibition facilities. More and more convention and exhibition centers have evolved from purely operating venues in the past to the integration of exhibition venues, hotels, office buildings, shopping centers, museums, and art galleries. New mode of operation. At the same time, the vertical integration of exhibitions, exhibition planning, organization, construction, consulting and other businesses gradually merged together, resulting in a number of influential exhibition groups. In addition, the convention and exhibition company has extended integration into the industry sector wher the exhibition is held. For example, Guangzhou Guangya Convention and Exhibition Group and China Southern Network Group established Guangdong Guangya Southern Network Energy Lighting Research Institute. In addition, the cross-border integration of technology empowerment mainly refers to the integration of the Internet and venues, the integration of the Internet and exhibitors, and the integration of the Internet and the home arena. These integrations have improved work efficiency on the one hand, and have spawned many new ones on the other hand. The business model accelerates the innovation and upgrading of the exhibition industry. For example, Tencent became the technical service provider of the online Canton Fair, and Alibaba and the Shanghai Council for the Promotion of International Trade established a cloud exhibition company.
Finally, the cross-border integration of complementary businesses. The exhibition industry has a very close relationship with the media industry and information service industry. The mediaization of exhibition companies and the organization of media exhibitions are mutually integrated. Many well-known exhibitions rely on world-renowned data and information companies. .
(Source: China Trade News)
