by Joachim Fischer

After the last weeks race in Sepang, Malaysia, the whole Formular 1 Circus plus many fans from all over the world are  in Shanghai, China for this weekend. All the  airlines flying to Shanghai are happy because the planes are very full specialy in the business and  first class. The Formular 1 races are more and becoming a hot tourist event because hundreds of enthuastic people are following every week the race cars.

A surge in exhibitor demand over the last few weeks has resulted in over 97% of booth space sold at AIBTM 2011 (www.aibtm.com) as meeting and event industry professionals aim to attend the first large scale U.S. exhibition incorporating a Hosted Buyer Programme, AIBTM Education day and America Meetings Week. A significant number of national tourist organisations and convention bureaus have come on board during the last month alone

In this week the  elite of the international MICE Business is attending the IT&CM Tradeshow in Shanghai.  In our picture gallery you will find  Impressions of the Event under “ Impressions from Shanghai April 2011”. Just click picture gallery. The pictures are from our friend Patrick Tan from TTG Asia.

Members select first leader on basis of research experience, industry standing and commitment to FCCI goals

The Future Convention Cities Initiative (FCCI) announced today that its first chairperson will be Lyn Lewis-Smith – Chief Operating Officer of Business Events Sydney. Lewis-Smith was the unanimous choice of the seven member cities – Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Business Events Sydney, Durban KwaZulu Natal Convention Bureau, London and Partners

The Beijing International Tourism Expo, popularly known as BITE, returns to the global stage for its eighth edition from 17 – 19 June, 2011. It is Asia’s leading annual travel and tourism event, and is being staged at a new venue – the China National Convention Centre (CNCC) — which was used as a communications centre during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The 2011 TTG China Travel Awards features a brand new category: Best Hotels in Other Regions Within China – and within it, six new awards. Winners in this category include smaller and less-publicized Chinese cities such as Chongqing, Guilin and Dalian. This addition recognises the increasing popularity of these secondary cities among international tourists. According to TTG China, both international and domestic visitorship to second-tier cities like Zhongshan, Wuhan, Wuxi and Xiamen, rose sharply by over 30% as compared to 2009. This percentage is much higher than the 23% average growth of visitors in China.