Alliance brings global procurement leader into $150 billion meetings market
Beijing, China, April, 2011— HelmsBriscoe, the global leader in meetings procurement and site selection, and VariArts Travel Group, China’s leading high-end travel consolidator, announced their plans to increase distribution of the HelmsBriscoe brand into the Chinese market. This distribution of additional resources will continue HelmsBriscoe’s globalization by connecting both event planners and venues in China, the fastest-growing MICE market, with HelmsBriscoe’s services and technology. HelmsBriscoe’s resources along with VariArts’ experience and expertise will be a great asset when serving HelmsBriscoe’s clients in China.
This distribution of additional resources will continue HelmsBriscoe’s globalization by connecting both event planners and venues in China, the fastest-growing MICE market, with HelmsBriscoe’s services and technology. HelmsBriscoe’s resources along with VariArts’ experience and expertise will be a great asset when serving HelmsBriscoe’s clients in China.
HelmsBriscoe’s 1,200 global Associates serve 9,000 corporate, association and government clients, helping them identify and secure the right venues at competitive rates, and offering RFP contract negotiation support.
“The meetings procurement business is still new in China, where the meeting industry is less mature than it is in the United States and Europe,” says Yog Wang, HelmsBriscoe China’s executive director. “HelmsBriscoe’s services and technology allow us to bring a more efficient business model to venue partners and event planners in China. China’s independent meeting planners will be well supported by our global reach, unrivaled partnerships with suppliers and ongoing guidance.”
China’s meetings industry is a $150 billion market with annual growth of over 20%. The mainland boasts over 2,000 convention hotels with 600,000 guest rooms.
HelmsBriscoe’s technology will also provide their Chinese meeting planners with a new platform for connecting with their international colleagues to share industry knowledge, experiences and up-to-date venue intelligence through HelmsBriscoe’s propietary knowledge database.
For clients located outside of China, VariArts will use its hospitality industry relationships to open up a greater variety of site options, and its veteran expertise to steer them through the local nuances of the RFP and contracting processes.
“China’s meetings market has huge potential,” says Roger Helms, founder and CEO of HelmsBriscoe. “We will provide China’s meeting planners with a one-stop solution, greater resources, and more advanced technology to help them offer more complete services and compete for more group clients.”
“The HelmsBriscoe platform will create a true community in China’s meetings industry. It will encourage the growth of independent meeting planners in China feeding on our strong entrepreneurial culture. We aim to become the meetings service procurement hub that brings professionalism and education, global support and pricing advantage to our Chinese associates,” says Lin Xu, founder and CEO of VariArts.
Through the strength and expertise of HelmsBriscoe and VariArts, along with the addition of a strong team in China, this unique global alliance will join the world’s largest procurement company with China’s leading travel consolidator to offer clients the only true global resource for meetings procurement.
