The role of exhibitions in urban development

The exhibition economy, tourism economy, and real estate economy are known as the "three major smoke-free industries" in the 21st century, and they will undoubtedly have a great role in promoting the development of the national economy of a city or a place. So, specifically, how should we view the impact of the convention and exhibition industry on the urban economy? The convention and exhibition industry is a high-income, high-profit industry, with profit margins between 20% and 30%. Exhibitions have functions such as bridges, windows, booths, and connections, and play an important role in promoting commodity circulation, technological exchanges, information communication, and economic and trade cooperation. The exhibition industry has a strong association and driving effect, and the exhibition industry has a strong joint function. According to relevant data, the industry driving coefficient of the international exhibition industry is 1:10, that is, if the income of exhibition venues is 1, the income from accommodation, catering, transportation, communications, tourism, trade and other related income will reach 10. Domestic calculations from Shanghai and Shenzhen show that the industry driving coefficient of the convention and exhibition industry is 1:9. The main manifestations are: exhibitions can attract a large number of Chinese and foreign exhibitors and visitors, thus stimulating consumer demand for goods and services and promoting the development of commerce and catering service industries. According to statistics, the consumption of a convention and exhibition businessman is 2 to 3 times higher than that of a holiday tourist; the three factors unique to the convention and exhibition industry, namely exhibits, exhibition venue and exhibition period, determine the geographical and time limitations of exhibitors and traders. , the exhibition venue must provide exhibitors with "one-stop" services such as product exhibitions, seminars, news communications, and hotel services. This will drive the development of the consulting industry, cleaning industry, advertising industry, printing industry, tourism industry, etc. in the exhibition venue. Rapid development; conventions and exhibitions can promote the host place to strengthen the development of basic industries such as transportation, transportation, telecommunications, and environmental protection industries, thereby comprehensively enhancing the comprehensive economic strength of the host place. Exhibitions can display a city's image and improve its international and domestic visibility. Internationally, an important indicator to measure whether a city can join the ranks of internationally renowned cities is the number and scale of international conferences and exhibitions held by the city. An international conference or exhibition can not only bring considerable benefits to the host city Economic benefits can also bring immeasurable social benefits. International exhibitions are the largest, most distinctive and meaningful urban advertisements. They can promote a country or region's scientific and technological level and economic development strength to exhibitors, traders and visitors from all over the world, and showcase the city's elegance and image, expand the city's influence, and improve the city's international and domestic visibility and reputation. At the same time, the development of the exhibition industry will also help deepen the understanding and exchanges between governments, domestic and foreign groups and business circles, and promote mutual visits and cultural exchanges between cities. The convention and exhibition industry must be steadfast in developing the convention and exhibition industry. The convention and exhibition industry is a product of the development of the market economy. It first developed rapidly in cities in coastal areas. The "convention and exhibition economy" has been recognized and valued by more and more regions and cities. Zhengzhou has certain advantages in developing the convention and exhibition industry. We inspected the development of the convention and exhibition industry in Shanghai, Shenzhen and other places some time ago and met many people engaged in business and exhibition work. They are generally optimistic about Zhengzhou's development of the convention and exhibition industry and believe that Zhengzhou is the best place to host exhibitions. ideal city. Developing the convention and exhibition industry must highlight individual characteristics. Judging from the development trend of the international and domestic convention and exhibition industry, individual characteristics are increasingly highlighted, such as Shenzhen's "High-Tech Fair", Dalian's Clothing Expo, Guangzhou's "Canton Fair" and so on. Then, when developing Zhengzhou's convention and exhibition industry, we should also consider Zhengzhou's unique characteristics. Only by highlighting its uniqueness can we develop unique features, and only then can the convention and exhibition industry have vitality. Based on Zhengzhou’s location, transportation, culture, tourism and other advantages, the development of Zhengzhou’s convention and exhibition industry should highlight the following individual characteristics: First, develop conventions and exhibitions with large logistics volumes. Because Zhengzhou is located in the Central Plains, it has unique location advantages and developed transportation, which has obvious advantages. Railway, highway and air transportation are convenient and fast. This kind of location and transportation advantages are beyond the reach of some remote cities. It is more conducive to the transportation and distribution of large quantities of goods and is conducive to logistics distribution. Exhibiting here can enable large quantities of goods to come in and out quickly, allowing merchants to save time and money, achieving the purpose of convenience, speed and efficiency. Therefore, the development of Zhengzhou's exhibition industry should mainly rely on this advantage, give full play to this advantage, highlight this feature, and hold more exhibitions with large logistics volumes such as large machinery, building materials, agricultural products, etc., which will also be more conducive to promoting and stimulating Zhengzhou's logistics industry. development. The second is to develop exhibitions focusing on agricultural products.

Since the reform and opening up, especially in recent years, our city's agriculture has made great progress. Xinzheng jujube and peanuts, Zhongmou watermelon and garlic, Xinmi honeysuckle, etc. have a certain reputation and market share in the international and domestic markets. Zhengzhou is the capital city of a major agricultural province in the country, with rich varieties and high quality of agricultural products. Nationally speaking, Shandong Province is the most advanced region in agricultural development in the country. Zhengzhou has Shandong in the east and the national-level Yangling High-tech Agriculture Demonstration Zone in the west. It has the best and moderate location to hold agricultural product exhibitions, which can attract agricultural products and their new varieties from all over the country to be sold, displayed, circulated and promoted here. Zhengzhou's exhibition industry should rely on these advantages to vigorously develop exhibitions focusing on agricultural products, making Zhengzhou a national center for the exhibition, sales and display of agricultural products, and the demonstration and promotion of agricultural scientific and technological achievements. This will drive the development of agriculture in the Central Plains region. The third is to focus on operating the "Food and Wine Fair" and develop it into a famous brand exhibition. Cultivating famous brand exhibitions is very important to improve the overall level of urban exhibitions. The National Sugar and Wine Fair has been successfully held in Zhengzhou for eight sessions, and each session is better and more influential. Last year's China Food and Drinks Fair was large in scale, wide in scope, with many ingredients and high quality. There were nearly 4,000 participating companies and a turnover of more than 10 billion yuan. During the exhibition, all the city's 100 large and medium-sized hotels with more than 100 beds were full; the catering sales of four-star and above hotels such as Yuda International Trade Center and Zhongzhou Hotel increased by 50% compared with normal times; the exhibition layout and advertising investment of more than 100,000 yuan were There are more than 500 manufacturers; transportation, telecommunications, commerce, tourism, etc. have all benefited greatly from the China Food and Wine Fair. The fourth is to combine festivals, conferences and exhibitions to promote economic development through festivals, conferences and exhibitions. Shaolin Martial Arts Festival is the only international event held in Zhengzhou. With the successful holdings one after another, the Wushu Festival's influence at home and abroad has gradually expanded, and its popularity has become higher and higher. Therefore, Zhengzhou should hold various exhibitions around the "Shaolin Martial Arts Festival", fully expand the connotation and extension of the "Shaolin Martial Arts Festival", and organize various economic and trade negotiation activities, trade fairs, seminars, etc. through the combination of the Martial Arts Festival. It is necessary to select one or two advantageous products with Central Plains characteristics, hold exhibitions during the Shaolin Wushu period, expand international influence and popularity, and promote 1 to 2 products with Central Plains characteristics to the international market through "setting up a stage for martial arts festivals and economic and trade performances" . Straightening out the system for the development of the convention and exhibition industry At present, in addition to lagging concepts that hinder the further development of the convention and exhibition industry, institutional factors cannot be ignored. To vigorously develop the convention and exhibition industry, the system must be further streamlined and improved. The development system of the convention and exhibition industry should adapt to the needs of market economic development and carry out market-oriented operations. This is not only the development trend of the convention and exhibition industry, but also the need for the development of the convention and exhibition industry itself. In the early stages of development, the convention and exhibition industry cannot do without the cultivation and support of the government. For example, the construction of infrastructure such as convention and exhibition venues and facilities requires large investments and slow returns. Moreover, it is a social welfare facility and should generally be invested and constructed by the government. When the convention and exhibition industry develops, the government should strengthen macro planning and guidance and unify approval to avoid duplication and waste of resources; strengthen the development of urban transportation, transportation, communications, hotels, advertising, tourism, and service industries supporting the convention and exhibition; strengthen Evaluate and certify the qualifications of the exhibition industry and exhibition companies; strengthen the management and supervision of exhibition activities of sponsoring and undertaking institutions. The specific operation of exhibitions mainly relies on various exhibition companies, professional associations, etc., whether they are public, private, joint-stock, or foreign-funded companies, as long as they meet the conditions for operating exhibitions, they can hold exhibitions. However, we must follow the path of market-oriented operation and use market methods to operate exhibitions, so that all kinds of exhibitions can continuously improve their level in market competition. The management systems for the exhibition industry are not consistent across regions. International exhibitions in Shanghai are reviewed and approved by the Municipal Foreign Economic and Trade Commission and the Municipal Science and Technology Commission, while domestic exhibitions are reviewed and approved by the Municipal Commerce Commission. Dalian has established an exhibition work leading group with main city leaders working part-time to provide unified leadership and coordination of exhibition work. The office is located at the Municipal Council for the Promotion of International Trade ; Shenzhen has established a convention and exhibition management center directly under the municipal government. It exercises state-owned asset management rights on behalf of the municipal government, and specific business is undertaken by the exhibition company; the Canton Fair is directly managed by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, and the Guangzhou Expo is organized by the municipal government. The Municipal Economic Cooperation Office takes the lead in hosting it, and other professional exhibitions are hosted by industry associations. Their common experience is that in the early stages of development, the exhibition industry cannot do without the cultivation and support of the government. However, after it develops to a certain level, the government focuses on macro management and coordination of services, and the specific operations are carried out by professional exhibition companies.

The organizers of exhibitions in various places have developed from a single government department at the beginning to a new multi-faceted and multi-level structure that combines government departments, private associations, industrial and trade companies, domestic exhibition companies, Sino-foreign joint venture exhibition companies and wholly foreign-owned exhibition companies. . With the rise of the convention and exhibition industry, a number of exhibition companies specializing in the convention and exhibition industry have developed in various places, and the number of employees in the exhibition industry has also increased rapidly. Strengthen the construction of exhibition infrastructure and the training of professional talents. The Shanghai Pudong International Convention and Exhibition Center is under construction, with a planned area of ??1 million square meters, and an exhibition area of ??100,000 square meters. The Guangzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center is planned to cover an area of ??2 million square meters. meters, with a total cost of 4 billion yuan. If Zhengzhou wants to vigorously develop the exhibition industry, its hardware facilities must keep up. The hardware facilities and software environment for holding exhibitions in Zhengzhou need to be improved. The largest exhibition hall in Zhengzhou, the Zhongyuan International Expo Center, only has an exhibition area of ??13,000 square meters and has 700 international standard booths, which is far from meeting the needs of international exhibitions. . Therefore, if Zhengzhou wants to further develop the convention and exhibition industry, it must first build convention and exhibition venues. The planning and construction of new venues must be forward-thinking, and the scale and level must reach the first level at home and abroad. According to the international experience of holding large-scale conventions and exhibitions, the exhibition hall area must be at least More than 100,000 square meters. The planning of the new exhibition hall should match the large square and reserve space for development, making it a starting point for rebuilding Zhengzhou. In the long term, consideration can be given to building a conference center, opera house and high-end hotels in the exhibition area and surrounding areas to make the area a The future sub-centre of the city. At the same time, it is also necessary to build a number of star-rated hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues of different grades so that exhibitors and visitors can "live comfortably, eat satisfactorily, travel conveniently, and have a good time" in Zhengzhou during the exhibition. The development of the exhibition industry requires a large number of high-quality professionals. For exhibition organizers, they must not only be proficient in foreign languages, but also master knowledge and skills in public relations, advertising, planning, etiquette, negotiation, etc. On the other hand, with the advent of the Internet era, online exhibitions have become a new highlight in the exhibition industry. People can use the Internet to display products, exchange information, negotiate trade, and carry out e-commerce. All this requires highly qualified professionals. Convention and exhibition professionals in Zhengzhou can be obtained through two channels. One is to organize various conventions and exhibitions, train convention and exhibition professionals through practice, organize special training, and invite famous domestic and foreign experts and professors to introduce convention and exhibition organization, design, construction and Transportation and other aspects of knowledge, improve the management skills and foreign language proficiency of exhibition organizers, improve the overall quality and cultivate a team of our own exhibition professionals. The second is to create a good atmosphere for the development of the convention and exhibition industry, use careers to attract talents, and recruit convention and exhibition professionals.