Hostelco will have its own pavilion in HDD Shanghai, the major world fair aimed to equipment suppliers for the hospitality sector. This initiative, fruit of the agreement reached between Fira de Barcelona and UBM Sinoexpo, is part of Fira's internationalisation strategy and will allow the Spanish companies in this field to explore the great opportunities offered by Asian markets.

The presence of Hostelco will be in Hotelex, the most important show for suppliers of the Asian hotel and catering industry. The next edition will be held in Shanghai from April 9th to 12th 2012 being part of HDD (Hotelex + Design & Deco), a larger event which will bring together the building and sanitary applications industry (Expobuild) as well as professional cleaning companies (China Clean). The fair, which will cover 200,000 square metres and house 2,200 exhibitors, expects to attract over 100,000 professional buyers.

Hostelco, Fira de Barcelona's International Hotel and Catering Equipment Show, will make its debut outside of Barcelona to offer its exhibitors the possibility of positioning themselves on the global hospitality market and, specifically, in countries that, like China, will triple their tourist infrastructure in the next decade.

For Fira de Barcelona's International Business Director, Ricard Zapatero, "this agreement is very positive for the sector's Spanish companies that, through Hostelco, will be able to take advantage of the big opportunities offered by markets as dynamic as the Asian ones, especially at a time when demand in European economies is very weak". Zapatero also said that the presence of Hostelco in Hotelex "forms part of Fira de Barcelona's strategy to boost its international business and promote the exposure of Spanish companies to foreign trade". Fira Barcelona will also hold an edition of its construction materials show, Construmat, in Beijing on July 2012, which is a clear example of this vision.

According to the president of the Chinese society UBM Sinoexpo, Wang Ming Liang, "the time for this agreement could not be better, since the hotel sector is currently one of the most dynamic in the Chinese economy and Shanghai aspires to be the great capital of world tourism in 2015, with the set up of over 15 unique projects -such as a new Disney park in the city- which will mobilise an investment of 4,000 million euros".
According to data from the World Tourism Organisation, China is the third world tourist power, having received 56 million foreign tourists in 2010. The Chinese Tourist Agency (CTA) estimates that in 2011, this sector will contribute over 160,000 million euros to the country's GDP. 

Barcelona, September 26th 2011

Images available at here
Adam Sedó
0034 93 233 26 59
asedo@firabcn.es