IT&CM China 2012 keynote session, ‘China’s Century: Fulfilling its Destiny as a Mega Meetings Destination,’ delivered by ICCA CEO Mr. Martin Sirk, enjoyed a huge turn-out. Drawing on his 20 years of industry experience, Mr. Sirk spoke about the growing importance of international meetings in the world, and specifically in China. 

A highly respected name in the industry, Mr. Sirk has been the CEO of ICCA since July 2002. Since taking over as CEO, Mr. Sirk has overseen ICCAÕs growth from 600 to over 900 member companies and organisations in 87 countries worldwide, covering all the key supplier sector. Delegates at IT&CM China will have the opportunity to catch another seminar by Mr. Sirk on Thursday, 19^th April where he will talk about, ‘How International Associations Make Their Decisions.’ 

Today the Seller-Meet-Buyer (SMB) Appointment Scheduling Sessions were held at the SWEECC exhibition hall, where representatives of the 317 exhibiting companies met with the 350 attending buyers. IT&CM China’s proven match-making formula guarantees 32 quality business appointments to each buyer and seller. While 60% of these appointments are pre-scheduled, the remaining appointments are set during the SMB and BMS (Buyer-Meet-Seller) sessions on-site. 

Today saw some 40 participants at the Fundamentals of Business Travel Management^TM Course – Associate Level, by Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). Said Mr. Welf Ebeling, Regional Director Asia-Pacific for GBTA, “We are very pleased that the intake for the Fundamentals course has doubled since its introduction last year. GBTA will announce the details of the Global Travel Professional Certification by 2013 and we are in the process of finding a suitable institute in Asia to partner the manager and leader certification levels.”

Added Mr. Dean Fowles, Category Principal, Travel & Expense Management, Global Sourcing at Rio Tinto, “The dynamics in China have really changed. We are witnessing a more global environment and companies have become more mature in their outlook. They now handle travel and expense management in a more sophisticated manner and are investing in training their staff to improve business efficiency.”

This year also features, for the first time in China, the Association Professionals Competencies PAE Course by the Australasian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE) and Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE). 12 participants attended the course conducted by highly experienced Association Presidents, Mr. Michael Anderson – President & CEO, CSAE and Mr. Simon Pryor – President, AuSAE. Said Mr. Pryor, “We are very proud and excited to bring the course to China, and hope to be able to lend our support to China’s associations sector in the years to come.” Mr. Anderson remarked, “We have delivered the course thrice in Bangkok, at IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific. The feedback we have received has been very positive and we hope to duplicate the success in China.” 

These specially designed 1.5 days courses include examinations, and successful candidates walk away with internationally recognized professional certifications adding instant value to their organisation. 

At the Official Press Conference, co-organisers Mr. Darren Ng – Managing Director of TTG Asia Media, Mr. Tong Wei - President of CITS, Mr. Li Zhuyuan – General Manager, CITS International MICE and Ms. Elaine Wu - General Manager of MPI, shared with close to 90 attending international and Chinese media, their collaborative plans to strengthen IT&CM China. A new IT&CM China logo was revealed during the press conference. The new logo is part of the company’s corporate re-branding exercise that aims to unify the IT&CM events franchise.

The evening’s Opening Ceremony and Welcome Dinner extravaganza at Renaissance Shanghai Zhongshan Park officially declared the start of the business days at IT&CM China 2012.