MICE CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE

By Dr. Zuzana Adamson

DAYS 2 & 3

The Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Centre hosted the three-day ITB China 2025 event. The second and third days of the event presented a busy, productive and active atmosphere with a rich programme in work, fun, business, education and networking. Strengthened partnerships with the UN (United Nations), SITE China, WTTC (World Travel and Tourism Council), Oxford’s Tourism Economics and ATTA (Adventure Travel Trade Association) defined the accompanying programme. The ITB China Conference presented more than 150 speakers on 60 topics that are shaping and moving the industry forwards.

New for 2025 was the Travel Innovation Hub that connects new technologies and their application in the travel and tourism industry, an Innovators’ Pitch and Innovation Showcase while there were the traditional elements like the MICE & Business Travel Session, as well as special tours for buyers.

In Conference Room 2 for example, there was a large MICE Panel discussion entitled “Global Interaction: How associations can promote win-win outcomes in the exhibition/conference economy from a global perspective?” The moderator was Ms. Alicia Yao, founder of the China Business Event Industry Committee (CCPIT-CSC), and participating were Maria Rosa Azzolina, President of the Italian-Chinese Institute; Li Zhou, Vice-President, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce Chamber of Urban Infrastructure; Wei Yuan, Vice President, Canton Chamber of Commerce in Kenya; Baozhen Yang, member of the China Association of Small and Medium Commercial Enterprises; and Yifan Bai, Deputy Secretary, Guangdong Manufacturers Association.

Other topics and subjects that were discussed included: How to create and prepare a travel itinerary measured for the client; How to build faithful clients; What are clients nowadays requesting; Where is the MICE industry going; How are the habits of business travellers transforming; How important are cultural experiences for creation of MICE programmes; Emotional effects in travelling and their importance; New trends in the MICE industry, and more.

The European Travel Commission (financially supported by the EU) presented European countries under one booth: Bulgaria, Montenegro, Croatia, Czechia, Slovakia, Germany, Réunion, Serbia, Switzerland and shopping centres and outlets like Galeries Lafayette Haussmann or Via Outlets – Fashion Arena in Prague.

The evening programme for delegates on the terrace on the top floor of the JOYA Hotel was organised by the city of Guangxi. It offered gorgeous views over Shanghai and its iconic buildings on the Huangpu river with illuminated boats and an impressive orange sunset. Later the artificial illumination of the buildings lit up the banks of the river with a backdrop of several changing colours.

An autonomous region in China, Guangxi showed the delegates a presentation of its natural beauty and resources, a poetic spirit, its cultural heritage, and singers and dancers in local costumes which produced a lovely spectacle and attracted the delegates to actively participate.

The food was nice and tasty, well presented, and the collective dance at the end was a pleasant conclusion to this delightful evening celebration of ITB China 2025.

On the third day of ITB China 2025 there were organised sessions with international B2B media. Our MICE CEE (MICE CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE) media attracted plenty of interest from buyers, Chinese business people, hotels and governmental organisations from Chinese cities. It is clear that Central and Eastern European countries present themselves together under the banner of the European Commission however countries like Italy, Spain, Slovakia and others create their own bilateral relations with China which include visa policies. In this matter, for example, Italy prefers that Chinese tourists come to Italy not from France within the EU but directly from China, and then that they visit other Italian cities and regions.

As individual European countries try hard to build bilateral relations in the tourism and MICE industry, we should also build travel and MICE industry relations between individual countries. The Czech Republic should try hard to create bilateral relations, or work together with Slovakia to do so, because in the minds of Chinese people, Czechoslovakia still exists. When I say Czechia, many Chinese people don’t understand what I mean, but when I say Czechoslovakia, they know immediately.