City tourism officials want to transform Shanghai into a popular and efficient conference destination.

The number of conference centers and hotels with conference facilities is rising. There are about 220 star-rated hotels as well as a handful of well-equipped conference centers.

However, many of these hotels are not marketed effectively internationally. This problem is further compounded by the fact that many suffer from a dearth of good communication links.

The Shanghai International Conference Management Organization, which was created last year by the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administrative Commission, is compiling a comprehensive list of facilities across the city.

The information will then be made available online.

"This will greatly reduce the time international conference organizers spend looking for a venue in Shanghai," said Shi Tiehua, deputy general manager of the organization.

When finished, the organization's website will also include details of every conference held in the city since the year 2000, including the industry it represented, its participants and their countries or regions of origin.

Collecting the information is part of a larger plan that will eventually be implemented to help revitalize the Shanghai conference industry.

"This is just the start. We hope to work with hotels and conference centers to constantly improve," Shi said.

The organization has employed experts from the World Tourism Organization to analyze the information and develop a blueprint to be implemented the next five years.

"We can develop the knowledge of how to promote Shanghai's conference industry on the world scene," Shi said. "We want to follow the rules of the market and keep up to date with international practices."

Shanghai's conference industry lags behind that of both Singapore and Hong Kong. It is hampered by traffic problems, inadequate facilities and a shortage of English speakers.

A decade ago, the conference industry enjoyed direct support from the municipal government. In the last few years, however, economic growth has stretched the list of priorities, which inevitably diverts the authorities' attention away from the industry.

The organization is looking to conference organizers who are based in Shanghai and already members of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) to help attract more international and domestic conferences.

"We have chosen 14 industry associations in Shanghai. We will contact them and make some of them Shanghai's 'conference ambassadors' next month," Shi said.

Shanghai ranked 36th among the world's most popular conference destinations in 2004, according to the ICCA. The city's goal is to get into the top 10.

Last year, Shanghai's five-star hotels hosted 300 international conferences. In the first half of this year, the Westin Hotel, near the Bund, alone hosted more than 30.

Shi thinks Shanghai's international reputation is rising alongside improving infrastructure and facilities, which will help attract more conference organizers.

Shanghai does not currently have any venue capable of hosting large conferences of 8,000 delegates, Shi said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2005)