Categorized | Business

HVCB seeks new business at China event (April 12-15)

MEDIA RELEASE

With China continuing to grow in importance to the meetings industry market, a sales team from the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB), Hawaii Convention Center (HCC), and Hawaii Tourism China (HTC) will travel to Shanghai seeking new business at the country’s largest meetings industry event.

IT&CM China 2011 (Incentive Travel & Conventions Meetings) is April 12-15 at the ShanghaiMart Expo and expects to have approximately 2,000 industry professionals from across Asia in attendance.

“With Hawaii’s strategic location in the Pacific, the IT&CM convention in Shanghai is an important opportunity to showcase our state as a premier destination for global meetings,” said Mike McCartney, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

“Our participation in this tradeshow will enable us to reach attendees from China and throughout Asia, complementing Hawaii’s efforts to capitalize on the interest in our state as we prepare to host the 2011 APEC Leaders’ meeting in November,” he said.

Along with the two-day tradeshow to promote the Hawaiian Islands, April 14-15, the Hawaii sales team will be holding scheduled appointments with current and potential clients, and will also be taking part in a press conference with 40 Asian media to help publicize Hawaii’s qualities as a meeting destination.

Leading the Hawaii sales team will be Michael Murray, CMP, CMM, CASE, HVCB vice president of sales and marketing for corporate meetings and incentives, June Matsumoto, HCC director of marketing and business development, Qing Chen, HCC China sales representative, and David Sun, HTC trade marketing director.

A major topic of discussion for the Hawaii team during IT&CM China 2011 will be the hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting this November when 21 heads of state, led by President Barack Obama, meet in Honolulu to address issues of trade and investment that impact the Asia-Pacific region.

In Shanghai, the Hawaii team will be hosting a special presentation about APEC for meeting planners to discuss the significance of Hawaii being the host site for an event expected to attract more than 15,000 international government officials, policy makers, and delegates.

Murray said one of his key selling points during IT&CM China 2011 will be Hawaii’s affordability as an international meetings destination, especially with the programs of HVCB’s popular Added Value Resource Center being extended through 2012.

“China’s potential as a source market for new meetings business continues to grow and Hawaii’s meetings industry has worked very hard for several years to position our state as the ideal destination to help groups expand their reach internationally,” Murray said. “IT&CM is a superb opportunity to highlight Hawaii’s appeal in meeting their growth objectives, and to promote how our Added Value Resource Center can extend their meeting budget.”

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