A Tentative Study of the Convention Exhibition Industry and Course Design for Convention Ex.doc

A Tentative Study of the Convention & Exhibition Industry and Course Design for Convention & Exhibition EnglishContentsContentsiAcknowledgementsiii内容提要ivAbstractvChapter One Introduction to the Conference & Exhibition Industry11.1 Conferences and Exhibitions Within Business Tourism Context11.2 Definitions and Categories31.2.1 Meetings, Conferences, Congresses and Conventions31.2.2 Exhibitions, Expositions, Trade Shows and Trade Fairs41.3 The Foundation of the Conference & Exhibition Industry61.3.1 The Brief History of the Conference Industry61.3.2 The Evolution of the Exhibition Industry61.4 The Links Between Conferences and Exhibitions71.4.1 The Recent Amalgamation Two Activities into One Industry71.4.2 The Underlying Congruence Common Mission and Benefits81.4.2.1 Similar Mission of Gathering and Disseminating Information81.4.2.2 Common Benefits10Chapter Two Study of the Conference & Exhibition Industry132.1 Structure Model132.2 The Supply Side of the Conference & Exhibition Industry142.2.1 Suppliers142.2.2 Intermediaries and Specialist Agencies162.2.3 Miscellaneous Services for the Conference & Exhibition Industry162.2.4 Roll Call of the Direct Players in Conferences and Exhibitions182.3 The Current State of the Conference & Exhibition Industry192.3.1 The Industrys Recent Internationalization and Worldwide Dispersal192.3.2 The Conference & Exhibition Industry in Asia and China222.3.3 The Conference & Exhibition Industry in Shanghai232.3.3.1 Amazingly Rapid Growth in Quantity and Quality232.3.3.2 Superior Conditions with a Great Turbocharger for Progress242.3.3.3 Efforts Expected to be Made Towards Maturity26Chapter Three Professional Training and Education for the Conference & Exhibition Industry283.1 The Necessity of Professional Training and Education283.1.1 Challenges Facing the Industry283.1.1.1 Impact from New Technologies283.1.1.2 Fragmentation of the Industry and its Trade Associations293.1.1.3 The Lack of Data and Professional Research303.1.2 The Necessity of Professional Training and Education313.1.3 Requirements of the Professional Training and Education323.2 Current Professional Training and Education Opportunities343.2.1 College and University Courses343.2.2 Commercial Short-term Training programs353.2.3 Complementarity of the Two Professional Education Providers363.3 Comparative Analysis of the Industrys Professional Education at Home and Abroad363.3.1 Two Sample Modules363.3.2 Comparative Analysis38Chapter Four Course Design for Conference & Exhibition English404.1 Status An Auxiliary Subject in a Subordinate Position404.2 Concept of Curriculum, Syllabus, and Course Design404.3 Identity of Conference & Exhibition English414.3.1 What is ESP?414.3.2 What is Business English?444.3.3 What is Conference & Exhibition English?444.4 Guiding Theories of Course Design for Conference & Exhibition English454.4.1 Possible Guidepost for Theoretical Development454.4.1.1 Development of ESP464.4.1.2 Development of Business English474.4.1.3 Development of Conference & Exhibition English in China484.4.2 Concept of Needs Analysis504.5 Course Design for Conference & Exhibition English514.5.1 Steps of Course Design514.5.2 Needs Analysis524.5.2.1 Social Needs524.5.2.2 Personal Needs534.5.3 Objective554.5.4 Content554.5.4.1 Material Design554.5.4.2 Tentative Syllabus Design564.5.5 Methodology584.5.6 Evaluation59Conclusion60Bibliography61AcknowledgementsThis thesis would not have been possible without all the help I have received. To everyone who has helped me in any way, I owe an enormous debt of gratitude.First and foremost, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to and profound appreciation of my supervisor, Professor Zhou Fengbin, for his professional guidance, patient instruction and unstinting help during the past academic years, for his constant support and encouragement during my preparation, research and organization of this thesis, and especially for the priority he gave to the painstaking proofreading of my manuscripts despite a very heavy schedule. In particular, I appreciate his preciseness in pursuing studies, which has impressed me a lot and will continue to influence me academically in my future.My sincere gratitude also goes to Professor Luo Guoliang, Professor Xu Yaqin and Professor Xie Yi for their enlightening instruction and kindly help in the course of my academic study. Im also grateful in particular to Professor Xia Zhengrong for his vivid and thought-provoking lectures, from which I got the inspiration to start my research. Besides, I am appreciative of the much-needed help from my friends Luo Xiuzhen, Chen Jiali and Hu Bin. Their valuable advice and materials threw light on the preparation of the thesis.Finally, I would like to thank my parents for their love and constant encouragement, from which I draw endless impetus. Words fail to express my gratitude to them.内容提要会展业在我国是一个新兴的行业，近年来其发展态势迅猛，尤其2010年上海世博会的成功申办，对上海乃至全国会展行业的发展起到了巨大的推动作用。随着会展人才需求的的扩大和国际竞争的临近，会展人才才培训问题已经受到业内和学术教育界的重视。会展业的国际化、专业化、规模化、品牌化、科技化、多元化的趋势要求会展人才应是一支受过高等教育、具有优秀素质的专业化队伍，然而多数会展业界人士没有经过系统培训，专业化程度不高，仅有的一些会展业内知名人士多属于业务实践经验积累型人才，就总体而言，我国会展业从业人员的知识结构和专业化素质距离国际化会展规范运作要求相去甚远。从整个会展业发展趋势来看，国内会展人才培训市场将商机无限，但会展研究教育之路任重道远。从类型上看会展人才主要包括会展经营人才、会展外语人才、会展工程建设人才和会展研究教育人才。目前我国的会展职业人才培训和专业人才教育都处在试验阶段。针对中国是非英语语言国家而会展业需要英语作为面向国际市场的工作语言的矛盾，会展英语成为会展高等教育和高级职业培训中不可或缺的一门课程，其课程设计包括目标设定、教材编选及教学方法的采用等都有待探索，这要求教育界与会展业为此开展有效的合作，做出更积极的努力。本论文共分四章，其中前两章是对会展行业的分析，后两章是对会展职业教育培训及会展英语课程设计的探讨。第一章介绍了会展业的基本定义及其兴起和发展的历程，为进一步阐述会展业的运作规律铺陈理论。第二章分析了会展业的行业结构及运作的基本理论，概述世界和中国尤其是上海会展业的现状，为分析其职业培训的目的及内容奠定基础。第三章根据会展业的未来趋向及目前发展中的盲点提出了加强职业教育培训的必要性并探讨了职业教育体系的建设及着重点。第四章一方面论述了会展英语课程设计的必要性，在分析专门用途英语及商务英语定义的基础上给出了会展英语的定义；另一方面阐述会展英语课程设计的理论并为如何进行教学实践提出了建议。结论部分再次说明会展业的发展前景和会展英语课程设计的意义，希望引发语言教育界与会展行业对这一专门英语学科的共同关注及探讨和研究。关键词：商务旅游 会展业 职业培训 会展英语 课程设计AbstractTourism is on the verge of becoming the worlds largest industry. Its sub-sector, business tourism, with MICE - meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions at its core, is also showing sustained growth. The conferences and exhibition industry, in particular, caters for the high quality, high cost and, therefore, high yield end of the market. The greater spending power of tourists from this sector means increased economic benefits for the host destination and a greater return on its investment in infrastructure and marketing. Big cities in China have recently recognized this phenomenon and hailed it with a vast campaign of constructing huge convention centers and exhibition venues. Conferences and exhibitions are increasingly international and global, which has inevitably resulted in the standardization of their services. Meanwhile, todays convention attendees are educated consumers and have a wide variety of choices and high expectations regarding services provided. In order to effectively manage the much more sophisticated market, professional education must be developed to reinforce the personnel provision. Students must be familiar with the specifics of the conference & exhibition industry and further have a thorough understanding of the role of various players in providing the necessary services. This thesis does not intend to elaborate on “how-tos”, but attempts to unfold a broad overview of the industry - its history and development, its overall structure, main players and basic activities. Thereby, the author hopes to do a tentative exploration of the potentialities and underlying needs of this industry, and wish to provide an awareness of the necessity of developing the professional education tailored to this industry, especially designing a specific English course for it.This thesis consists of four chapters. The first two chapters focus on the study of the conference & exhibition industry and the latter two chapters discuss its professional education and course design for Conference & Exhibition English.Chapter One makes an attempt to define the conference & exhibition industry and provides a historical overview of this industry. Chapter Two analyzes the structure of the industry, and makes a survey of the industrys current state at home and abroad.Chapter Three discusses about the necessity and the current development of the industrys professional training and education. Chapter Four brings forward the concept of Conference and Exhibition English, and makes a tentative exploration on why and how to design this course on the basis of needs analysis.Key words: the conference & exhibition industry, professional training and education, Conference & Exhibition English, course designChapter One Introduction to the Conference & Exhibition Industry1.1 Conferences and Exhibitions Within Business Tourism ContextConferences and exhibitions are activities that are often regarded as one of the staples of city tourism, particularly in Europe and North America. They form two sectors within “business tourism”, itself a sub-sector of the overall tourism industry, which comprises both leisure tourism and business tourism. Travel was hard work. It is no coincidence that travel and travail (heavy labor) have the same root word. Our ancestors did not think that the word “travel” was synonymous with the word “pleasure”，as so many of us do today. Travel was difficult and dangerous and only undertaken for reasons of necessity.Indeed, it was the interest in the trade of goods that propelled much of the travel and the exploration from earliest times. Started in Asia, the Middle East and Africa in ancient times, business travel found an epochal growth in the Middle Ages stimulated by the Silk Route. The expansion of trade in the nineteenth century was accompanied by the growth of business travel whether on a regional, national or global scale. Businessmen traveled to purchase materials and components and to sell goods. They mainly traveled to cities and towns and their overnight stays provided a stimulus to the development of hotels. Not until the early twentieth century did easier transportation, greater affluence and more leisure time open up the possibilities of massive leisure tourism.“Business Tourism is concerned with people traveling for purposes which are related to their work” (Davidson, 1994). So far, business trips have been made for various purposes and “business travel and tourism” has become an “umbrella” term embracing a variety of different forms, fifteen of which are illustrated in Figure 1.1-1.Figure 1.1-1 A typology of business travel and tourism1 In Figure 1.1, NGOs refers to Nongovernmental Organizations.1Source: Business Travel and Tourism, 2001It is clear, therefore, that business travel and tourism is a diverse, complex field. However, the main areas are meetings, conferences, conventions, exhibitions, training courses, product launches and incentive travel2 Incentive travel is a global management tool that uses an exceptional travel experience to motivate and /or recognize participants for increased levels of performance in support of the organizational goals (quoted, in Swarbrooke and Suan , 2001). 2. Training courses and product launches often take the form of meeting. For one thing, people, especially managerial personnel, prefer to meet as attendees instead of trainees. And product launches usually appear as small press conferences. In other words, (local, regional and national) meetings, (international) conventions, exhibitions and incentive travel are actually the major four components of business tourism. As you are reading these words, tens of thousands of business travelers worldwide are beginning or ending their trips. At the same time, thousands of major conferences and exhibitions are taking place globally, while hundreds of incentive travel programs are being enjoyed in our country.So far, the context in which conferences and exhibitions derive and develop can be illustrated as follows:Figure 1.1-2 Conferences and exhibitions within the wider tourism context Conferences and exhibitions are perceived to be strong growth sectors in which the visitor spends an above-average amount and which operate for most of the year. When the enormous number of attendees involved in conventions and trade shows is considered, it is no wonder that cities are fiercely competing for the conference and exhibition business. “Research into business travel in the USA in 1994 suggested that the primary purpose of 49 percent of business trips was to attend a convention, meeting or trade show. An additional 11 per cent of those surveyed cited attending these events as a secondary purpose for their trip”(quoted, in Robbe, 2000). In some cities up to 40 per cent of those staying overnight in serviced accommodation have come for these two types of activities.This thesis will focus on these two major sectors of business travel and tourism - conferences and exhibitions. 1.2 Definitions and Categories1.2.1 Meetings, Conferences, Congresses and ConventionsTerms such as meetings, conferences, congresses and conventions are used in different countries to describe what is called “a temporary assemblage of human beings”. These synonymous terms tend to vary depending on the size of the event and where it is held. “A small gathering is a meeting, but a large meeting is usually called a conference in the UK, a congress in much of mainland Europe and a convention in the USA” (Swarbrooke and Suan, 2001).According to Davidson, a meeting is: an organized event which brings people together to discuss a topic of shared interest. It may be commercial or non-commercial . may be attended by 6, or many hundreds it may last from a few hours to a week. What makes a meeting qualify as part of business tourism is that it engages some of the services of the tourism industry, and is usually held away from the premises of the organization running it. (Davidson, 1994) Hereby, the meetings and conferences we will discuss in this thesis do not include those small regular meetings held within the premises of an organization. Rather, international conferences or conventions, which entail factors of worldwide business travel and tourism, are what we are to highlight. The definition of “international conference” given by the Union of International Associations (UIA) excludes many smaller events. “It should be the one that has at least 300 participants, a minimum of 40 per cent foreigners, at least five nationalities, and a duration of at least three days” (quoted, in Montgomery, 1995).In terms of the buyers, conferences can be catalogued as corporate meetings, association conferences and conventions of public sectors.Corporate buyers are particularly involved in organizing board meetings, annual general meetings, corporate hospitality, product launches, sales conferences, team-building activities and training courses. The main industries that call for conferences frequently include energy, medical, computing, engineering and financial services. Association buyers is a term that covers a multitude of different types of associations, most of which are non-profit making. Rogers (1998) identifies the following six types:i i professional and trade associations whose members join because of their employmenti i political partiesi i trade unionsi i voluntary associations and societies whose members join to further an interest, belief, or hobbyi i religious organizationsi i charitiesAssociation buyers organize some largest conferences. In the case of international annual conventions, they may have over 10, 000 delegates attending. To appeal to members who live in different areas, associations will endeavor to move their annual convention to different destinations each year.Public sector buyers refer to central and local governments, and statutory agencies. In addition, health and education sectors are also heavily involved in organizing such business tourism events.1.2.2 Exhibitions, Expositions, Trade Shows and Trade FairsThe word “exposition” dates from the fifteenth-century Latin verb “exponere”, meaning “to set forth, to explain” (Merriam Websters Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition). That verb has acquired several meanings over time and among areas of specialization. The definition most appropriate for our purpose is “to show, display, or exhibit products or services for public or private view”.Davidson defines exhibitions as:presentations of products or services to an invited audience with the object of inducing a sale or informing the visitor Exhibitions are considered part of the business tourism industry because they stimulate travel, for both exhibitors and visitors. They also create a high level of demand for travel services, catering, and accommodation. (Davidson, 1994)Exhibitions may be “trade fairs”, “trade shows” or “expositions” as they are called in different parts of the world. These terms are used interchangeably in many publications. However, all these terms can be used indiscriminately with the prerequisite that they are employed to describe a major “industry marketing event”. In other words, the “exhibitions, trade shows and expositions” here in discussion are made for the purpose of trade and sales promotion. In this sense, public art exhibition cannot be referred to this group. The little difference between trade show and trade fair lies in their different emphasiswhether on “show” or on “fair”. Trade shows usually have newly developed models on display to demonstrate the updated concepts of design, from which the specialists in that trade could perceive the fresh trend of progress and fashion. Their exhibitors are intended for concept release and product launches more than immediate orders. T