The China Import and Export Fair has long been part of China’s economic barometer. CIEF has not only influenced exhibitors, but has also boosted the development of the MICE sector in Guangzhou. With the city's MICE economy developing more and more, CIEF, which is China's top exhibition as well as the most valuable exhibition in Guangzhou, has helped Guangzhou to be in the leading position in China's MICE sector.

MICE (Meetings, Incentives tours, Conventions & Exhibitions) Facilities
Provisional statistics show that the direct income each year from exhibitions such as the CIEF, the Guangzhou Fair, and the Auto Show is approximately CNY 1.3 billion. Guangzhou now has 11 professional exhibition venues with a total exhibition area of 490,000 square meters. Of these, the Guangzhou International Convention & Exhibition Center is currently Asia's largest venue. It is estimated that over 350 exhibitions and 1,100 trade fairs are held in Guangzhou each year. The direct income of Guangzhou's MICE sector accounts for 41% of that for all of the province of Guangdong.

The 105th Canton Fair will be hold in Pazhou Complex from 15th April to 7th May, 2009.

The Pazhou district now has a group of exhibition venues and after Phase III of the Guangzhou International Convention & Exhibition Center was put into use in the autumn of 2008, the total construction area of the Center reached 1,086,000 square meters, with 330,000 square meters of exhibition halls and capacity for 211,000 stands. The Center has now replaced the Hannover Exhibition Center in Germany as the world's largest exhibition venue.

Advantageous Location
Located in the heart of the Pearl River Delta, Guangzhou is the hub for South China's passenger traffic, logistics, information flow, and capital circulation, the largest regional center in South China, and the core of the Pearl River Delta-South MICE economy industrial zone. Neighboring Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia, Guangzhou is an important trade port of China, and its market can serve Guangdong, South China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. This creates a huge market for Guangzhou's MICE economy.

The new Baiyun Airport with many international airlines flying directly to Guangzhou has attracted many multinational corporations to open branches or offices in the city, and this reinforces the value of MICE in Guangzhou. In addition, Guangzhou and its neighboring areas have rich tourism resources and a good shopping environment, offering clients a wide range of activities outside business hours and the Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center, and the booming top-end hotels make Guangzhou extremely capable of receiving MICE teams.

Booming Hotel Industry
How to choose a hotel that meets the requirements of the client? Most clients would choose hotels from famous brands because of the size of their MICE team and other requirements. Guangzhou's hotel sector is developing rapidly. By 2010, the total number of Guangzhou's star-rated hotels will have increased to over 300, of which half will be four-star and five-star properties. The entry of international hotel brands is a big opportunity for the local hotel industry, and will have an impact on some old five-star hotels. Currently many old five-star hotels have begun to upgrade their facilities. They have enlarged rooms to make them double or triple the original size; and they are improving the entire service quality to make guests feel at home.