Hainan hosts regional VIP forum to boost economic co-operation

By Ingrid Kwok BEIJING The second annual Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) at the Sofitel Boao and BFA International Convention Centre late last year attracted 1,000 VIP delegates from 26 countries. Delegates at the November BFA, held in Boao on Dongyu Island in eastern Hainan, included present and former political leaders, high-ranking government officials and leading business people. The regional forum promotes economic co-operation and ties among Asian countries. The conference was originally scheduled for April 2003 but was postponed due to Sars. General manager of Sofitel Boao Gerhard Zimmer said: "We were pressured because we needed to make sure that the second conference would be successful. The coordination work was very detailed. "For example, the sequence of who getting off the limousine first outside the conference centre was fixed and it is our job to ensure everything went as smoothly as planned." Zimmer said a conference of this scale takes considerable preparation. "It means 24-hour work for us. But like racing in a marathon, the challenge is exciting and fascinating." Sponsor support made the logistics smooth, Zimmer added: "Audi and Volkswagen each sponsored 80 limousines for the delegates. Transportation was never a problem." Six hundred hotel staff and 300 specially trained volunteers from Hainan University participated in the event. The BFA International Convention Centre is the only non-profit making and permanent international conference site in China. The eight-month old Sofitel Boao has 437 rooms and is connected to the venue by a 120-metre covered walkway. The next BFA is scheduled for April 2004.