The city's offensive made a big advance June 14th last year. That's when Taipei was selected over Seoul, Osaka, New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Detroit, Montreal, Toronto, and Singapore as the site of the Lions Clubs international's seventieth annual international convention to be held this year from June 28th to July 4th. Some 40,000 Lions Club members and their families will be flying in from around the world to attend the convention, making it the largest international convention ever held on Taiwan.

International conventions are indeed a growing object of competition among nations. For developing and newly industrialized nations, they provide an opportunity to display their achievements and raise their international status. And for advanced industrial countries, they mean an influx of foreign exchange.

According to William Lue, executive secretary of planning for the Taipei International Convention Center, an international convention denotes a convention attended by at least 200 people from three or more countries, over 25 percent of whom come from overseas. By that definition, the 2,000 international conventions held in 1966 have now grown to some 20,000 a year.

"I've calculated that a guest at an international convention spends about four times as much as the average tourist," Lue said. "Their food and lodging are usually first-rate, and because their expenses are often paid for by their organization, they usually spend more money on shopping." An international convention has a catalytic effect on the local service industries, stimulating the tourist industry, the transportation industry, hotels, restaurants, department stores, and the training of interpreters, clerks, secretaries, and reception personnel for the convention itself.

Among all the various international conventions held each year, the Lions Club's is particularly sought after. First, the participants are leaders and distinguished members of society in their communities. "They have a lot of influence back home; they're just the kind of people we want to broadcast our national image. The Lions Club convention gives us a great chance to show off," indicates Dr. Yu-ming Shaw, director general of the ROC's Government Information Office.

Economically, the benefits are also rather appealing. Because the Lions are almost all consumers with high incomes, this year's convention is estimated to bring the country US$100 million in expenses for lodging, tourism, and shopping. And the possibility of setting up foreign trade and local investment deals is an expected side benefit.

How did Taipei manage to win such a plum?

Actually, the Lions Club decided five years ago to hold this year's convention at the large international convention center in Manila. It was only last year, in view of the political instability in the Philippines, that the club decided to take bids on a new site, and Taipei came out the winner.

If organizations holding international conventions are viewed as "customers" in a worldwide market in which cities are the "product," then what other factors besides political stability and security do customers consider in making a "purchase"?

According to a study conducted for the Taipei International Convention Center by Invetec (Taiwan) Ltd., an organization considers the country, the city, and the facilities of the site itself in making a selection.

One basic criterion may be, does the organization have members in the host country? For example, the ROC wouldn't have been able to apply to host the Lions Club convention if it hadn't had a Lions Club branch of its own. Next, all the participants must be able to obtain visas to the host country. Fortunately, the Lions Club has no members from Communist countries; otherwise, the ROC would have been out of consideration. Other factors considered include airline connections to the host city, ground transportation, hotels, restaurants, convention facilities, public hygiene, and tourist resources. . . .

Besides fulfilling the six conditions that the Lions Club set relating to lodging, transportation facilities, visas, tourist areas, convention site, and time, what other "product advantages" did Taipei offer?

"The focus of world attention is gradually turning from the North Atlantic to the Pacific basin," says Hsiao Po-hsiung, executive secretary of the ROC Tourism Bureau. "And compared with other countries in the region, we're not as costly as Japan; we've got much richer tourist resources than Singapore; our educational level and our foreign language ability are higher than South Korea's; and our society is more stable and harmonious than the Philippines'."

Taiwan's "problem of too much money" has also attracted the world's curiosity. "Everybody wants to come and see how this 'economic miracle' was produced and do business with us," says Taipei Mayor Hsu Shui-teh, who points out that the NT$190 billion (about US$6 billion) Taipei rapid transit system currently under construction is another enticement.

Getting started is the hard part; once the city gains experience, Taipei will host more and more large-scale international conventions. For example, the site for the Rotary Club's 1994 international convention has already been narrowed down to either Taipei or Osaka. Next year's meeting of the Asian Secretaries Association has been scheduled for Taipei. And many multinational corporations are preparing to hold annual employee meetings in the ROC

In line with the trend, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the ROC Tourism Bureau are investing NT$2 billion (about US$64 million) in the construction of the Taipei International Convention Center, a huge, state-of-the-art facility which will be located next to the Taipei World Trade Center and is scheduled to open in 1989.

"By the end of next year, work will be completed on the convention center and the Apollo Hotel," Mayor Hsu says, filled with confidence. "And a few years after that, when the rapid transit system and the new sports center are finished, our qualifications will be even better."

If you've got a good product, you need to sell it. According to 1984 statistics of the Asian Travel Association, Singapore invests 4.7 times as much money as the ROC in tourist advertising, Japan 4.4 times as much, Hong Kong 3.7, and South Korea twice as much.

If Taipei wants to get a piece of the action, it will have to ignore Confucius' injunctions to be modest and self-effacing. And if this year's Lions Club convention is a success, it will probably save the city quite a bit in advertising costs!

[Picture Caption]

This year's international Lions Clubs convention marks the formal advent of Taipei on the "international convention market." (photo by Arthur Cheng)

Taipei's business opportunities are another of its enticements.

Because of its growing importance in business and trade, Taipei already has international flair.

Is Taipei's traffic an obstacle to its becoming an international convention city?

The quality of its restaurants and hotels is another criterion for a convention city.

Taipei's business opportunities are another of its enticements.

Because of its growing importance in business and trade, Taipei already has international flair.

Is Taipei's traffic an obstacle to its becoming an international convention city?

The quality of its restaurants and hotels is another criterion for a convention city.