Incomplete statistics show that in 2011 Shanghai hosted a total of 745 international meetings and conferences of various themes. Both the number of corporate meetings and the number of association meetings increased over 2010 – Shanghai hosted 256 corporate meetings, up 20.8% over 2010, and 247 association meetings, up 1.6% over 2010.
The robust hike that Shanghai achieved in the number of corporate meetings and association meetings hosted can be explained by the fact that all kinds of business meetings are beginning to move into Shanghai and the metropolis has become an appealing business destination, which also speaks volumes of the ever increasing market orientation of Shanghai’s international meetings sector. In addition, in 2011 Shanghai hosted 31 large conferences attended by upwards of 1,000 delegates, 4 more conferences over 2010. This further shows that the meeting venues of Shanghai have been continuously improving after the World Expo, which puts Shanghai in a better position to host major international conferences with over 1000 participants.
2013 will see Shanghai play host to a large number of big international conferences, including the Congress of the International Pediatric Nephrology Association (IPNA 2013), the International Congress of the Asia Pacific Society of Infection Control (APSIC), as well as the Asia Pacific Digestive Week. It’s anticipated that the Asia Pacific Digestive Week will gather 15,000 participants. On another front, the 52nd Annual Conference of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) will take place in Shanghai from November 2 to November 6, 2013, the first time that the world’s most influential association meetings organization will hold its annual gala in its 50-year history, demonstrating ICCA’s recognition of and commitment to Shanghai’s meetings sector.
