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ICCA officially endorses China Conference & Business Travel Fair (CCBTF)

ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath (l) and Mr. Patrick Chen (r), Director of Marketing and Promotion Department, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, shake hands in Shanghai to confirm their extended partnership.

The endorsement marks the culmination of efforts to further position Shanghai as a leading hub for conferences and supports Shanghai’s local Business Events industry.

Shanghai, China-P.R. – The annual China Conference & Business Travel Fair (CCBTF) organised by the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, officially receives full endorsement from ICCA – the global association for the meetings industry.
 
The endorsement marks the culmination of efforts to further position Shanghai as a leading hub for conferences and supports Shanghai’s local Business Events industry in its transformation to become an international B2B event with a strong business appeal. This decision was made during a meeting between Mr. Patrick Chen (Director of Marketing and Promotion Department, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism) with Mr. Senthil Gopinath (ICCA CEO) and Mr. Noor Ahmad Hamid (ICCA Regional Director for Asia Pacific) last month in Shanghai. 
 
The first CCBTF was held in 2011 and was part of Shanghai’s strategic roadmap to stimulate the growth of international meetings business in its effort to bid for the ICCA Congress. Previously known as the “China International Meetings & Conferences Forum (CIMCF)”, the event rebranded its name to “China Conference & Business Travel Forum & Fair (CCBTF)” in 2016. The two-day event focusses on industry engagement and has been introduced by Shanghai in partnership with other ICCA member cities, ultimately generating greater interest in ICCA activities among local associations and the meetings industry. As part of the efforts of Shanghai to enhance knowledge development and industry engagement, the city hosted the 52nd ICCA Congress in 2013, which was the first time an annual ICCA Congress was held in China.
 
CCBTF is a the primary educational forum for local industry professionals to stimulate knowledge exchange, business development and networking. The forum attracts over 500 meetings industry stakeholders from across China and brings together a line-up of global speakers and delegates from the meetings industry to discuss key issues, exchange industry ideas and create business and networking opportunities.

CCBTF features travel experience designed TED Talks, knowledge-sharing, buyers-meet-sellers sessions and the release of the annual China Business Travel Report, which is a highly anticipated industry report. The event also features trending meetings industry topics such as meetings technology, destination promotion, digital strategy, experiential design as well as a training programme specially catered to young meeting industry professionals.
 
ICCA CEO, Mr. Senthil Gopinath indicated: “We acknowledge that China is an important market for ICCA’s membership growth and this endorsement is a testament of our commitment to engage more actively with Shanghai. It is my fervent hope that this endorsement will enable Shanghai to focus more concertedly on the international association meetings business segment.”
 
Delighted with this announcement, Mr. Patrick Chen remarked: “CCBTF serves as a powerful platform where leaders of our industry co-create content and co-explore business and growth opportunities. Shanghai has a long relationship with ICCA since 2001 and we are pleased that the endorsement will take the ICCA-Shanghai partnership to the next level. ICCA’s support for CCBTF is of paramount importance to Shanghai, as we thrive to make our event better entering the new decade.”
 
Meanwhile, ICCA’s Regional Director for Asia Pacific, Noor Ahmad Hamid added: “I am extremely pleased with the outcome of the meeting between Shanghai and ICCA’s CEO. ICCA’s endorsement for CCBTF is timely as China is extensively developing its meetings segment. This move will support all the work that we are doing for China and the Asia Pacific region, and I am thankful to the ICCA CEO for his trust and full support.” 
 
The CCBTF 2020 will be held from 23 – 24 September 2020 at Shanghai International Convention Centre.

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