The World Leisure Expo Committee recently launched a worldwide marketing campaign for the 2011 World Leisure Expo in London. Mr. Shi Yongsheng, Deputy Director of the 2011 World Leisure Expo Committee, addressed excited attendees during a press conference at the Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square on April 7th. The kick-off event was held to promote the campaign and to allow Mr. Shi to send his personal invitation to citizens from around the world. Also in attendance was World Leisure Organisation Chairman Derek Casey. Mr. Casey confirmed his attendance at the 2011 World Leisure Expo in Hangzhou.
Mr. Shi introduced the Expo that will be held from September 17 to November 18, 2011, in Hangzhou, China. Promoted under the theme “Leisure Enhancing the Quality of Life,” the eagerly anticipated international Expo will cover a multitude of leisure activities, while also providing a full-on leisure experience. The organisers have invited 50 cities and 50 leisure-based enterprises to share their culture and experiences on how best to drive the leisure industry’s development.
When asked about why London was chosen as the first stop in their worldwide campaign, Mr. Shi expressed his excitement, noting that it was because the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London marked the beginning of a new era in world fairs. Drawing on the connection, Mr. Shi hopes that the 2011 World Leisure Expo will blaze a trail for the prosperity of the world’s leisure industry, changing people’s lives for the better.
Mr. Shi said, “We aim to foster collaboration and communication among cities from home and abroad, and we are dedicated to providing a platform to present the latest developments in the leisure industry. We are determined to advocate the academic research of leisure, and ultimately, we believe, help transform the industry by helping to shape new modes of leisure.”
This new cooperation is actually the second time the Hangzhou Municipal Government and World Leisure Organisation have cooperated with each other. In 2006, they successfully held the the 1st World Leisure Expo, which lasted six months and welcomed 88 cities from 26 countries. 34.22 million people attended the Expo, while 233 business events brought Hangzhou over GBP620 million in foreign capital and a trade turnover of about GBP1.3 billion.
Next on the 2011 World Leisure Expo campaign trail will be France and Germany.