Important businesses and organizations in Shanghai's exhibition industry will spare no efforts to support the city's latest industry upgrade plan.

The city has set a goal to be an international exhibition hub during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period.

Part of the plan includes attracting 200 professional exhibition companies, boosting the exhibition area to 20 million square meters and having 80 percent of exhibitions in the city boasting international status.

"We will focus on promoting the development of the exhibition industry's soft environment, such as talent attraction and exhibition brand building," said Gu Chunting, vice president of the Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanghai. The council, one of the key trading promotion organizations in Shanghai, started organizing various events since 1978.

The organization is responsible for a broad range of works, including promoting exhibition industry legislation, setting industrial standards and developing branded exhibitions.

In the talent training area, the council has established partnerships with some universities to offer practice opportunities to students with majors in exhibition studies.

The council also plans to make suggestions to the Shanghai government about providing more talent-supporting policies so high-caliber professionals can enjoy improved benefits when working in China.

Shanghai DLG Convention and Exhibition Group, the owner of Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center and Shanghai Automobile Exhibition Center, has set a goal to be a globally renowned exhibition group.

The group has identified exhibition pavilion operation, event organizing, exhibition advertising and sports event operation as four of its core businesses.

Chen Huifeng, president of DLG, said that the company will continue to promote the concept of organizing international, professional and branded events to support the healthy development of Shanghai's exhibition industry.

In recent decades, DLG has successfully developed four UFI-approved exhibitions, including the China International Industries Fair (CIIF) and the Ad, Print, Pack, Paper Expo. According to the group, CIIF attracts more than 2,300 exhibitors and more than 120,000 visitors annually.

The company aims to achieve 8 percent annual organic sales revenue growth in the next three years. The company's revenue was about 500 million yuan ($74 million) in 2015. It will also look for merger and acquisition opportunities to expand its scale.

The Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC), the foreign-invested exhibition pavilion operator, plans to constantly improve its service quality to maintain its competitiveness.

"We understand the demands of show organizers and have started efforts to improve services for their exhibitors," said Michael Kruppe, SNIEC general manager. "This is important in helping our customers outdo their competitors."

SNIEC has been upgrading its services since 2015 to consolidate the center's position as the venue with the best service in China.

Currently, SNIEC is planning to work with the government to build a new multifunction hall at the venue to host conferences and meet demand for major events.

It has also established a strategic alliance with US associations, such as the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, to upgrade the venue's digital offerings.

The pavilion operator has also upgraded its dining and internet service, and risk prevention and management in the past two years to ensure exhibitors and visitors enjoy a pleasant experience in the pavilion.

tangzhihao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/09/2016 page15)