The 13th edition of Beijing International Tourism Expo (BITE) will be held this week at National Agriculture Exhibition Center from 20 – 22 May 2016. The three-day exhibition, organised by Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development, and co-organised by Conference & Exhibition Management Services Pte Ltd and CEMS (Beijing) Conference & Exhibition Co., Ltd, is set to feature exhibitors from 80 countries/regions and 30 provinces with a gross area of 22,000m2.
Sri Lanka was officially unveiled as the Country Partner of BITE 2016 at a press conference held at Beijing Tourism Building. As the country that marveled explorer Marco Polo in the 13th century, the 40 over co-exhibitors from Sri Lanka will be looking to excite visitors with their destinations, products and services.
In the same press conference, Indonesia, set to make its debut in BITE 2016, was announced as the International Gold Sponsor of BITE 2016.
In his address to the media, Mr Santo Darmosumarto, Counsellor, Social & Cultural Affairs, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, showed the ambition of Indonesian. “Out of the 10, 000, 000 tourists that visited Indonesia last year, only 1, 200, 000 of them were Chinese tourists. We aim to attract 2, 100, 000 Chinese tourist to Indonesia this year,” Mr Santo said.
This year, an unprecedented number of tourism ministers, ambassadors and heads of various National Tourism Organisations will grace BITE 2016. The inaugural World Tourism Development Conference 2016 will be held from 18 – 21 May 2016. The 13th BITE 2016 and the 7th G20 Tourism Ministers’ Meeting will be part of the World Tourism Development Conference 2016, co-organised by the China National Tourism Administration and the United Nations World Tourism Organization. It is expected that Senior Officials, tourism ministers and more than 500 delegates will be present at the conference.
With BITE 2016 being part of the World Tourism Development Conference, the organisers have made several adjustments to the exhibition. One of them was moving the date forward, from the planned June, to May so that it is held in conjunction with the conference. The location has also been moved to the National Agriculture Exhibition Center.
In addition, in order to enrich the programme of the conference, a visit to BITE 2016 was also listed as one of the main highlights of the conference.
CEMS - Organiser of BITE 2016 CEO Edward Liu presents the Show
To improve on the international aspect of BITE 2016, the international gross area has been increased by more than 30%.
Besides Sri Lanka, other countries, including Czech Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, South Korea, Russia, and Venezuela have returned in bigger waves this year with more co-exhibitors. To commemorate the 2016 US-China Tourism Year, the USA will bring in more than 10 co-exhibitors to the exhibition.
To date, more than 28 national pavilions have confirmed their participation in BITE 2016. In addition to the long-time supporters of BITE 2016, newcomers Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, the Philippines, Tunisia and Venezuela are set to make their debuts in BITE 2016.
In addition to the new countries, BITE 2016 will see more active participation of airlines, with Sri Lankan Air, Mahan Air, S7 Airlines, Lan & Tam, Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia etc exhibiting, making BITE 2016 a more diversified exhibition. It is expected that more than 1,000 exhibitors and more than 5,000 trade visitors will participate in BITE 2016.
Another of the highlights of BITE 2016 will be the destination presentation sessions – countries including Czech Republic, Indonesia, Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the USA and Venezuela will introduce their destinations to the audience. In order for the audience to further immerse in their culture, these countries have specially prepared souvenirs to be given out to audiences at the Destination Presentation Sessions.
Trade visitors to BITE 2016 can also look forward to cultural performances by various countries. For example, The Tourism Authority of Thailand will bring in performances for visitors to experience the culture of the Land of Smiles. Korea Tourism Organization, as always, will display its cultural performances and activities to excite the visitors. Indonesia, the International Gold Sponsor, will also bring one of its traditional dances – Pelangi Nusantara – to the exhibition.
The Buyers-Sellers Meeting Sessions will provide an ideal platform for exhibitors and trade visitors to discuss and negotiate potential business opportunities. Trade visitors looking to meet their choice exhibitors can register onsite, or make use of our pre-scheduled appointments to skip the queue at the registration counters.
The BITE series has grown to become an important platform for business discussions in the tourism industry. More than just the perfect platform to showcase tourism resources, the BITE series is also the leading tourism exhibition in China. BITE 2016 will continue to bring the culture and latest happenings from all over the world to the tourism industry in China.
For more information on the various tourism exhibitions, please contact Conference & Exhibition Management Services Pte Ltd email info@cems.com.sg.
