The Meeting Industry is growing all over the globe. The mature part of the industry, as the first convention bureau in 1896 in Detroit, USA, is today looking at big changes to come. The opening of China, the biggest country in the world, as a meeting and incentive market will see a growth the nearest 100 years that we have not seen anywhere in the world before this.
From the Swedish/Scandinavian point of view China is already on the meeting and incentive map through companies like Lotus Travel, (both outgoing and inbound) from Stockholm, Finnair, the small air craft company from Finland that is putting in all their effort of having the shortiest way from Scandinavia to China.
Being a journalist in the meeting & incentive business for almost 25 years I find China, and what can become one of the most important meeting & incentive markets, as a big challange. Figures saying that China today is planning and building 209 new convention centres is impressing the whole world.
Just think of the convention market. Today US together with Germany is the biggest convention countries, but their cities is not on the top 10-list for most important convention cities in the world. (Take a look at www.iccaworld.com).
The biggest and most important organisation for the meeting industry is MPI (Meeting Professionals International, www.mpiweb.org) with more than 20.000 members in more than 65 countries in the world today. I would be happy helping China to create their first MPI Chapter. There are Swedish people working in China today who would be very happy to help organise the first chapter!
When it comes to the important Incentive market, there is an organisation called SITE, (Society of Incentive Travel Executives, www.site-intl.org) where the chinese market would be very interesting with it's historical background, the culture and the food .
To educate a meeting and incentive culture in a country there must be quality magazines and my hope is that MICE China will become the bridge between the suppliers and the buyers. Than MICE China will become a part of the meeting & incentive magazine world. With articles, seminars, exibitions, fairs, conventions and not the least the net working possibilities MICE China will become a very important bridge between China and the rest of the world.
From the Swedish leading meeting magazine Meetings Internationals point of view we will do our outmost to help MICE China to become an important magazine in the meeting industry.

Roger Kellerman
Publisher
Meetings International