Co-organised by the Shanghai Tourism Bureau, China Tourism Hotel Association, and Shanghai UBM Sinoexpo, HOTELEX Shanghai 2013 has successfully concluded on April 3rd at the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC), welcoming an overwhelming 70,557 visitors with an exhibiting area of 130,000 square meters.

The Number of Visitors and Exhibitors Steadily Rising Up
The number of exhibitors reached over 1,500 with a promising 30 percent growth covering 11 halls over 130,000 square meters of exhibiting space. HOTELEX also created an International Premium Area (IPA) at Hall E1 catering to first tier industry players such as SIRMAN, Scotsman, Halton, CAMBRO, HOSHIZAKI, Manitowoc, CONVOTHERM, RATIONAL, DKSH, MKN, and Fissler. On the other hand, the number of professional visitors also saw impressive growth with a 36 percent increase over the 2012 edition within the three day exhibition. What’s worth mentioning is that overseas visitors reached a peak number with a 63.3 percent increase over the 2012 edition due to pre-show intensive promotions. HOTELEX 2013 also initiated several VIP programs involving professional buyer group with tailor-made procurement meetings.

Multi-Media Channel Creating 360 degree of Exposure
HOTELEX 2013 attracted over 300 media partners from home and abroad to report and visit. For instance, Channel Young, Drink International Magazine, Foodservice Consultant Magazine, Hospitality Magazine, China Hotel Purchase News, and Meadin.com covered stories of different layers and components of HOTELEX, including exhibitors, visitors, baristas, bartenders and judges.

In additional to the traditional print media industry, HOTELEX 2013 introduced a strategic partnership through social media in order to expand the exposure and intrigue new visitors with tailor-made content. New social media channels such as Weibo and WeChat facilitated 24/7 interaction with a potential audience through more customized and intriguing content. Meanwhile, social media played an even more crucial role during the exhibition by creating onsite buzz and guiding foot traffic throughout the entire exhibition period.

In order to leverage visitor and exhibitor experience, HOTELEX 2013 opened up a designated area for media partners to facilitate media work and establish a user-friendly experience. Almost 30 media partners were stationed within the media center and thousands of leads and requests were made.

Eminent Ideas from Industry Opinion Leaders
The professional guests were undoubtedly the essential part of entire forum and a competitive advantage of HOTELEX. The 2013 edition of HOTELEX invited industry leaders and trend setters to share and inform. The ‘Foodservice in the 21st Century’ forum had industry pioneers elaborating on how catering owners and operators can stand out from fierce market competition with distinguished service and futuristic concepts. Speakers such as Jane Ganaway from Yum! China, Robin Ashton from Foodservice Equipment Report Magazine, Don Fisher from Fisher-Nickel, and Francois Tesniere , an award-winning architect and visionary designer, kept 200 audience engaged and inspired throughout the day.

As an annual event at HOTELEX, IPA Match-making Meeting offered face-to-face opportunities for suppliers to meet high-star hotel owners and created the perfect occasion to announce procurement requirement. 18 eminent speakers from existing high star hotels and hotels under construction including the Accor Group, InterContinental Hotels Group, Starwood Hotel, Jin Jiang International, China Wanda Group, and Greenland Group shared and brainstormed within a meeting room packed with engaging suppliers. Within two days, the HOTELEX IPA meeting attracted over 230 suppliers who attended the meeting and left with satisfaction and inspiration.

Fascinating Industry Competitions for Top-notch Contenders
At HOTELEX 2013, the competition area was undoubtedly the hot zone with most foot traffic and frequent bursts of applause and cheering. The China Barista Championship (CBC) once again announced itself as the authority among coffee professionals and enthusiasts with 50 regional winners representing 24 cities in China. The championship went to Ms. Wu Yalian , who represented the City of Xiamen, and will represent China at the World Barista Championship (WBC) in Melbourne, Australia in May. CBC has proven itself to be the cradle for future baristas in mainland China with an unstoppable enthusiasm and curiosity for coffee culture.

The China Master Bartender Competition has upgraded to its second version with a more diversified contender profile and more authoritative judging panel. Judging panel included the owner of COCCHI Chateau, Mr. Roberto Bava , Managing Director of DRiNK Magazine, Mr. Theo Watt , Flairtender Champion of Russia 2012, Mr. Viacheslav Gazukin , Mr. George Nemec , bar consultant and Global Becherovka Original Ambasador, and Mr. Kin-San, President of Zun Hua Bartender Club. The championship eventually went to Ms. Liu Mohan from Salon de Salon, the runner-up to Mr. Liu Bing from Muse on the Bund, and third place to Ms. Yang Mei from Nanjing Zuo Bar after 2-day competition.

Initiated by World Coffee Events (WCE), World Latte Art Championship debuted at HOTELEX 2013 with 46 competitive contenders competing for the exclusive spot in the finals to be held at Nice, France in June. After a three day competition, the champion went to Mr. Li Jianfei from Shenzhen.
In order to provide a platform for gelato professionals and enthusiasts to share, compete, and celebrate, the 2013 China Gelato Championship was first launched at HOTELEX 2013. Co-organized by Carpigiani and Fabbri, two leading gelato ingredient and equipment brand in Italy, the gelato championship was strongly endorsed by the Embassy of Italy to the People’s Republic of China, Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai, and Masters of Italian Gelateria (MGI). The brilliant judging panel has gathered the heavyweights of the gelato industry who bore a purpose to pass on the gelato culture to China. Mr. Lu Yuanyuan fought off 30 peer competitors to grab the top spot.

Onsite Display Reinforcing and Raising up Industry Benchmark
HOTELEX 2013 featured professional models in the Hotel Uniform Show Competition to display the latest trend and it managed to gather seven first-tier hotel groups to compete including the Hengshan Group, Jinjiang Group, Ramada, and Howard Johnson . The 2013 Hotel Uniforms Show Competition combined catwalk and skits to show the hotel uniform culture. The Star Hotel Western Buffet Display Challenge at Hall N4 addressed the current trend of buffet tableware and artistic presentation being considered as crucial elements nowadays. The Buffet Display Challenge showcased low-carbon options and dietary choices during the presentation.

Food Journey for Most Discerning Taste Buds
HOTELEX 2013 prepared an exotic food journey for the most discerning taste buds onsite. Italian Chef on Stage featured the Italian famous restaurant Casanova putting on an authentic Italian food journey through showcasing top-tier Italian chefs and best quality Italian food ingredients. Italian food has its own charm because of its unique cooking style and technique. The audience had an up-close contact with authentic Italian food but also Italian gourmet culture within the three day Italian food journey.

HOTELEX 2013 also had the chance to collaborate with the U.S. Agricultural Trade Office Shanghai Center to put on an excellent show featuring top-notch American food ingredients. Meanwhile, with the purpose of introducing varieties of American food ingredients into Chinese restaurants, high-end food ingredients from the U.S. were placed under the spotlight through Taste of the United States 2013 - Asian Master Chef Challenge featuring award-winning Chinese chefs.

The Wine-tasting area officially became a United Nations with wines and liquors representing Argentine, Portugal, and Italy, hosted by China’s first independent wine critic Susie Wu .