Promoting an 'exhibition economy'

By Xiao Han (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-22 09:40

Brand image is not only important for enterprises, but also very meaningful for cities.

Zunyi, a "red" city well-known for the significant Zunyi Meeting, plans to make best use of its historic association with the turning point of Chinese revolution so as to build a unique city brand and quicken its economic development.

Many Chinese cities have already founded distinctive brands based on different features. For example, Hangzhou raised the slogan "city of leisure", Guiyang played the card of "summer resort', Qingdao made itself the "sailing city" and Dalian succeeded with its marketing strategy as the "city of romance". So, what is the appropriate position of Zunyi?

After all-round research and consideration, the local government raised the idea to build Zunyi into a "city of exhibition", which refers to an ideal destination for various meetings, workshops, forums, symposiums and professional exhibitions.

It is quite reasonable to infer that Zunyi's historic resources and reputation might be an appealing factor for the meeting organizers, who wish for a great Zunyi Meeting or at least a good omen for a successful gathering.

In addition, as a fledgling part the service sector, the exhibition economy does have many advantages. It is a high-profit industry, with an average profit rate of 20-25 percent, and could effectively drive related industries, including tourism, commerce, logistics, communication, catering, lodging and advertising.

Developing the exhibition economy can also increase jobs. It has been estimated that every 1,000 sq m exhibition area can create 100 jobs.

Especially in China, the exhibition economy is an emerging sunrise industry and the most potential and fastest-growing sector in the service industry. With the Beijing Olympics and Shanghai Expo as peaks, China's exhibition economy is expected to have a promising future.

Since the city is very much dependent on resources and the energy-related industry, Zunyi also has an urgent need to adjust its economic structure. At present, the service industry only forms 34 percent of Zunyi's GDP, 6.9 percentage points lower than Guizhou's average level. Therefore, promoting the exhibition economy can also work as a breakthrough for the whole service sector.

Of course, building an "exhibition city" requires not only a historic reputation, but also demands good facilities and adequate experience in the field.

Zunyi now has the Phoenix Mountain Exhibition Center and several other facilities. The city has also held many large-scale exhibitions and competitions, including liquor exhibitions, tourism exhibitions, meetings for private entrepreneurs as well as the National Youth Acrobatics Contest.

The latest China (Zunyi) Liquor Exhibition this September is the most recent event proving that Zunyi has made rapid progress and is on the right track toward its goal to become the city of exhibitions.