In the year 1999, the International Horticultural Exposition was upheld in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province in China. Recognized as an international exposition by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the event was organized by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH), based in Paris, France. It was the first international mega-exposition had powerful support from the local government bureaus in Kunming, and hosted in China.
The six-month long exposition (Expo Garden) brought more than 9 million visitors from all over the world with a daily average of 49,000 park visitors and hitting a peak of more than 110,000 visitors in a single day. Kunming government chose to continue to keep the site open as a tourist destination, following the exhibition ended, and major transformations were made to Expo Garden's management structure and business operations. A decade later, Expo Garden had lost its standing as a prime tourist destination in Yunnan, as other destinations such as Dali, Shangri-la and Lijiang became the top tourist draws.
During this period, national tourists emerged as the chief engine of growth in the tourism business in Yunnan. In the year 2012, the group that owned and managedYunnan Tourism Co., Expo Gardens Ltd, a state-owned company recorded in the Shenzhen stock exchange, needed a turnaround strategy to improve the attractiveness of Expo Garden, its important asset. The aim was to: o Transform Expo Garden into a leading player in Yunnan Province's tourism industry; and to boost Expo Garden's income growth appreciably and enhance the financial operation of the business.
PUBLICATION DATE: September 08, 2014 PRODUCT #: NTU056-PDF-ENG
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