The China Meetings Industry Convention (CMIC) was held In Kunming, Yunnan province, for the first time on July 15, announcing that Chongqing is the best place in the southwest of the country to hold meetings, conventions and exhibitions.

A report using the so-called MICE (meeting, incentive travel, convention and event or exhibition) attractiveness index concluded that Chongqing was the best venue for exhibitions, beating Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan and Guangxi. The assessment is based on big data from Baidu, China’s largest Internet search engine.

The MICE attractiveness index is instrumental for businesspeople to learn about developments in the industry in different regions quickly, according to the report.

CMIC, which was set up by Meetings China magazine, is the largest annual gathering of China MICE elites and the most significant communication platform in the industry.

This year was the first time that the CMIC had been held outside of Beijing.