The construction of urban convention and exhibition big data platform was once a popular topic a few years ago, but actions were far behind what was aspired. Also, few people were finding out its true meaning, and no one succeeding in the construction.

The COVID-19 outbreak, which emerged at the end of 2019, has dealt a heavy blow to the safety of human life, economic activities and social development, with huge destructive power. Also, it has a far-reaching impact on the change of the global pattern. According to the analysis of authoritative figures, its negative impact on the domestic economy is mainly in five aspects: the rupture of the industrial chain, the pause in consumption and life scenes, the decline in investment, the decline in fiscal revenue, and the normalization of epidemic prevention and control; its impact on the global pattern will promote the reshaping of globalization and the adjustment of political and economic patterns. In order to deal with the epidemic, push forward the resumption of work and production, and restore people’s normal lives, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council will take five major measures in terms of finance, currency, new infrastructure, domestic sales of commodities originally produced for exports, and social assistance to promote China’s economic recovery and improve people’s living standard, among which new infrastructure becomes an important starting point. “Big data, smart city, cloud computing, Internet of things, and blockchain”, as the transformation and upgrading of traditional infrastructure and traditional industries, will turn into an important part of the new infrastructure. China’s digital transformation will start. The construction of urban big data and the construction of the big data platform of the convention and exhibition industry have become the needs of industrial development and an important part of driving urban economic development. This paper tries to analyze the basic engineering plate for construction of the urban convention and exhibition big data platform from five aspects, in order to make suggestions for those who concern this regard, and throw light on the further research.

I. The purpose of the platform must be clarified for the construction of urban convention and exhibition big data platform

There is no lack of explorers who build big data platform for the development of industry, city and country, nor those who fish for fame and fashion. A few years ago, an unknown media company, on the grounds of helping a city build a convention and exhibition big data platform, slipped away without carrying it through after obtaining a sum of funds from a city in southwest China. The reasons are as follows: first, incomprehension of the convention and exhibition big data; second, unclear purpose of the convention and exhibition big data construction; third, lack of professional and technical personnel and equipment; fourth, no in-depth understanding of the exhibition industry and the elements of big data.

This paper holds the opinion that the leader of the platform construction should first clarify the purpose of the construction of the convention and exhibition big data platform, in order to reduce blindness and enhance scientificity. There are mainly two purposes for building urban convention and exhibition big data platform: one is to improve and optimize the urban convention and exhibition environment and accelerate the healthy and rapid development of the convention and exhibition industry; the other is to drive and advance the development of urban-related industries with the development of the convention and exhibition industry, so as to promote urban digital transformation and economic prosperity.

II. The service object of the platform must be clarified for the construction of urban convention and exhibition big data platform

The issue of people stood as the direction and fundamental issue of the revolution in the revolutionary era. In times of peace, the purpose and service object of economic development remains the direction. For the construction of the big data platform, clarifying the service object also serves as a fundamental issue that concerns the direction and the construction effect. Without solving this issue, this platform will be a “dead platform” and lose its significance of existence.

It is believed that the urban convention and exhibition big data platform also has two service objects: one is the enterprise, the other is the government. A vigorous and meaningful platform must provide enterprises with the information they want to know, and can quickly and accurately obtain（has quick and qccurate accesses to） urban convention and exhibition policies, environment, facilities, industry, market, business environment, supporting industries, agencies, procedures and efficiency, so as to maximize returns with minimum investment and contribute to the development of enterprises. The big data platform, led by the government, must meet the government’s demand for information and data such as the current situation, production capacity and efficiency, leadership of related industries, potential sources of investment promotion, market potential, and development bottlenecks. Otherwise, it will not be able to suffice for the government’s demand to promote economic development goals. Only with a clear purpose can there be a direction for development and a focal point for construction.

III. The demand of the government and enterprises must be clarified for the construction of urban convention and exhibition big data platform

After making sure the purpose and confirming the object, clarifying the demand of the service object will become the breakthrough and starting point for the construction of the convention and exhibition big data platform, otherwise it will be far from the target.

With years of observation, this paper thinks that the government’s demand for the convention and exhibition big data platform mainly focuses on ten aspects: first, the total volume and scale of the exhibition; second, the quality and benefit of the exhibition; third, the capacity and potential of the conference and exhibition venues; fourth, the total volume and benefit of the conference industry; fifth, the country, region and number of exhibitors of exhibitions and conferences; sixth, the popularity and ranking of exhibitors in the industry, providing resources for investment promotion; seventh, the driving effect of the convention and exhibition industry, especially large-scale exhibitions, on urban economy; eighth, the correlation between large-scale exhibitions, high-end conferences and urban key industries, as well as the degree of leadership; ninth, policy leverage and input-output ratio; tenth, a comprehensive understanding of the advantages and disadvantages, prospects and trends of the urban convention and exhibition industry. The enterprises’ demand for the convention and exhibition big data platform mainly includes eight aspects: first, the exhibition support(incentive) policy of the government; second, the agencies, procedure and efficiency of the government and industry; third, the number, capacity and schedule of the exhibition hall; fourth, the total volume, capacity and distribution characteristics of star hotels, conference hotels and conference centers, as well as the schedule; fifth, the number, name and contact information of large-scale dining institutions; sixth, the situation of convention and exhibition supporting service enterprises; seventh, the situation of long-distance and urban traffic; eighth, the rental of office facilities. The above demands will become the characteristics of the platform if they can be presented to users through three-dimensional maps or other creative, convenient and efficient forms of access to information.

IV. The path to realizing the platform must be clarified for the construction of urban convention and exhibition big data platform

The construction of urban convention and exhibition big data platform is a huge systematic project, featuring large investment, wide range, high requirements and great technical difficulties. In the case of clear construction purpose, service object and market demand, the realization path and supporting power must be further clarified. Otherwise, it may cause the situation of grasping a small thing while losing sight of the big one. This paper believes that the construction of urban convention and exhibition big data platform requires the enthusiasm of four aspects: first, the enthusiasm of the government; second, the enthusiasm of enterprises; third, the enthusiasm of big data development company; and fourth, the enthusiasm of (industry and)  trade associations.

The government acts as the leader and organizer of China’s economic development. Without promotion and guidance of the government, top-level design and investment, the construction of urban convention and exhibition big data platform will be a castle in the air. Therefore, the enthusiasm of the government stands as the key. Enterprises are not only users of the big data platform, but also builders of the platform and providers of related data. The data source of the big data platform is inseparable from the support of data from exhibitions, exhibition halls, conference venues and exhibitors. Without the participation and support of enterprises, the data will be incomplete and cannot form a complete data link. The construction and investment of smart exhibition, smart exhibition hall and smart hotel (venue) also rely on enterprises, and their related data also need to be provided by various smart systems. Otherwise, it will be difficult to achieve the big data required by the government. Besides, the information of halls, venues and supporting service providers supplied by the big data platform for foreign enterprises to host exhibitions and conferences in the destination city also needs to be provided by relevant enterprises. Only by maximizing the use of the blockchain concept and technology to form a safe and efficient data sharing circle and turning the data into information flow, can a truly practical big data platform be built. Therefore, the enthusiasm of enterprises occupies an important part of the construction of urban convention and exhibition big data platform.

If the urban convention and exhibition big data platform is a building, big data technology development company is the construction team and data warehousing center. The construction ability and technical level of the construction team and the warehousing capacity, computing capacity, communication speed and intelligent synthesis level of the data center constitute the basis of the high-speed operation of the platform. The strength, ability and enthusiasm of the big data technology service enterprises building the platform are of great importance. Moreover, it is well known that (industry and) trade associations are the bridge between the government and enterprises. They are not only think-tank of the government, but also the mouthpiece of enterprises. They are both users of data and providers of relevant information, as well as organizers for enterprises to cooperate with government actions. (Industry and) trade associations have the characteristics of close ties with enterprises, and strong appeal, mobilization and execution, so their enthusiasm can play a good role as a bridge and tie for the construction of the big data platform.

V. Three problems to be clarified and solved for the construction of urban convention and exhibition big data platform

Although the construction of urban convention and exhibition big data platform is an old topic, it is still a new thing on the whole. Great attention should be paid to its security and convenience.

(I) Ensuring the security of the platform. Security is the lifeblood of the platform, which must be greatly valued. First, a strict firewall should be established to prevent the invasion of hackers and viruses; second, the introduction of bad information should be prevented, especially when linking to websites, so as to prevent linked websites from becoming zombie websites and being used by the undesirable at home and abroad, resulting in security risks; third, political security should be ensured. Many data of the platform will be built using the blockchain technical technology, which is of vital importance for information and data providers to strengthen education and management.

(II) “Exposed” and “concealed” systems should be considered in the construction of the big data platform: “concealed” system is for government use, “exposed” system is for enterprise use. The data of the system used by the government should be set up with access rights for the government and relevant departments to compile and request materials, and not open to the public. This is conducive to preventing the leakage of relevant information, while protecting the information security of enterprises that provide data for the platform. The information on the data platform system used by enterprises is open to the public, and all those who are concerned about the development of the urban convention and exhibition industry can obtain relevant information through the platform, which is fast, convenient and accurate.

(III) Ensuring the information security of customer resources of convention and exhibition enterprises. The convention and exhibition industry is an industry that neglects assets and values resources. Customer resources are the lifeblood of enterprises, and enterprises will not easily agree to use others’ information service systems. The customer relationship management system built by the former competent department (also an exhibition organization) of the industry in a certain city has been provided to enterprises for free use, but no one has been interested in it so far. The reason is that exhibition enterprise consider the system not safe and worry about the leakage of customer resources. It would be very convenient for the smart management system established for all venues to provide complete exhibition data to the government. However, the exhibition organizers will worry about the loss of customer information. Whether they agree to use it or not is a big problem. In this regard, the construction unit of the platform should attach great importance to it. Government departments should actively participate in coordination and urge the managers of venues and smart venues to sign strict non-disclosure agreements with users to ensure the security of exhibition customer information. In the meantime, the use cost of the smart management system must be within a reasonable range, otherwise there will be a large investment in venues but no use by the exhibition organizers.

The construction of convention and exhibition big data platform is not only an organic part of China’s digital transformation, but also the city’s demand for information related to exhibition management and development. It is also the trend of new infrastructure and new technology development after the attack of COVID-19 on human society, which should be highly valued by all parties. The construction of convention and exhibition big data is a systematic project involving a wide range and high technical requirements, which has a high degree of dependence on the urban wisdom system. This paper only demonstrates the tip of the iceberg, so it is hard to avoid making overgeneralizations, and corrections are welcome for any inadequacies. It is also hoped that this paper can serve as a modest spur to induce valuable contributions and act as a warning for those who have great determination in the unknown situation.