The Chengdu International Tourism Expo (CITE) was successfully held for the 3th time at the Chengdu Century City New International Convention and Exhibition at Chengdu, China. Covering an area of approximately 10,000 square metres, the three-day mega event involved a total of 1,663 exhibitors belonging to some 378 organizations in the tourism industry, as well as 406 hosted buyers from 35 countries, regions and provinces. On top of that, CITE 2015 attracted a total of 6,045 trade visitors, as well as approximately 10,000 public visitors.

CITE 2015 kicked off with an opening ceremony graced by nine tourism industry leaders, including Chen Jia Ling, Deputy Director General for Tourism Administration of Sichuan Province; He Yu Dong, Vice Director General for Chengdu Municipal Tourism Administration; Wang Xin, Deputy Director General for Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Exposition; Wang Song Ping, Deputy Director General for Tibet Autonomous Region Tourism Administration; and Cobi Yanovsky, Deputy Consul General for Consulate of Israel, Chengdu. These VIPs, hailing from all over the world, represent the global and international partnership that are evident and prevalent here at CITE 2015.

Other than the opening ceremony, CITE also held a welcome reception at the Sheraton Hotel, where 10 lucky guests went home with a cute panda plush toy as fond reminder of their pleasant stay in Chengdu, Sichuan.

The three-day exhibition featured an array of exciting activities such destination and promotion presentation sessions, delivered by exhibitors such as the National Tourism Department of Israel; Dagu Glacier Scenic Area; Embassy of Brazil; Embassy of Indonesia; Okinawa Tourism Bureau; Tourism Administration of Sichuan Province; Shaanxi Provincial Tourism Administration; tuniu.com; Vietnam National Administration of Tourism; and European Tourist Union. Due to overwhelming interests, the organizers had to construct two stages for exhibitors to conduct their destination or promotion presentation sessions. In addition, China BT MICE held seminar sessions, covering topics such as How to Reintegrate the Internet Industry Chain; Opportunities and Challenges in Developing Five-Star Hotels in
Western China; and How to Survive and Develop Traditional Travel Agencies in this Digital Age.

Apart than meeting and networking with exhibitors, hosted buyers had plenty of other activities planned for them. On 4 December 2015, after the exhibition, local hosted buyers visited the UVILLA Hotel, while international hosted buyers and MICE professionals visited the Hidden Mountain Hotel to learn more about their hotel facilities to explore possible future collaborations. On 5 December 2015, hosted buyers were taken on a tour to Street Ancient Town, Dujiangyan and Qingcheng Mountain to personally experience so that they can consider organizing tours to these destination sites.

Other than the above highlights, Hall 4 of the Chengdu Century City New International Convention and Exhibition was highly vibrant and bustling with life. Exhibitors showcased their cultures by dressing up in their traditional costumes. Tuniu.com also featured itself flamboyantly by getting two yellow cows, an icon for its brand, to tour around the exhibition hall.
To recognise the outstanding exhibiting efforts of exhibitors, a special awards ceremony was held on the second day of CITE 2015. The awards included the Best Organized Booth Award; Most Popular Booth Award; Outstanding Exhibitor Award; Sichuan’s Outstanding Tourism Administration Award; and the Most Cooperative Award.

CITE 2015 was organized by CEMS (Beijing) Conference & Exhibition Co., Ltd, co-organized by Conference & Exhibition Management Services Pte Ltd (CEMS), strategically partnered by Sichuan Tourism Association, and supported by the Tourism Administration of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Municipal Tourism Administration and Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Exposition.
The next instalment of the CITE series will be held from 1 – 3 December 2016 at the Chengdu Century City New International Convention and Exhibition. For more information, please visit www.sc-cite.com. For exhibition enquiries, please contact citesales@cems.com.sg.
Impressions from CITE and Chengdu: