April 28, 2010 - Tokyo, Japan - Research Panel Asia Inc.(RPA, Tokyo, Japan, CEO: Shogo Nakazato)which conducts a marketing research in APAC with its 1.7million proprietary online panels covering regional top 3 markets, Japan, China, and South Korea, has conducted its first original survey in China regarding the attitude toward Expo 2010 Shanghai China and released its result.

Background

Expo 2010 Shanghai China will be held from 1st of May, 2010. It is considered as a big nationwide event after Beijing Olympics in 2008. RPA has conducted a survey to see the actual awareness and interest towards the Expo, to see if there is a difference in the attitude of peoples in Shanghai and in other regions.

Findings

The event is widely acknowledged; while the level of interest outside Shanghai seems low.

1. 1) Awareness of the exhibition dates: In Shanghai - 98%, Outside Shanghai - 67.6%
2. 2) Intention of visiting the exhibition: In Shanghai - 91.1%, Outside Shanghai - 44.7. %
3. 3) Expectations for the Expo: Cultural experience - 72%, PR of China - 43.6%.

Method of Survey

Summary of the result

The awareness of Expo 2010 Shanghai China is 98.6%

Q: Do you know what Expo 2010 Shanghai China is? [SA]
84.0% of people all over China aware very much about the Expo. With 14.6% of respondents who answered "I have heard of it", 98.6% of respondents somehow acknowledges about the event, showing that the awareness of Expo is quite high in general.
When we see it from regional perspectives, 96.9% of the respondents who live in Shanghai are aware of the Expo while only 73% of respondents outside Shanghai are aware of it.

There is a difference in awareness of the dates for the exhibition by region.

Q: Do you know when the Expo will be held? [SA]
Among the people who are aware of or at least have heard of the Expo, 81.3% of them knows when the expo is going to be held. There is a regional difference also when we break down the figure by region, as 97.8% of people in Shanghai know the answer while more than 30% of the people outside Shanghai do not know the period of the expo.

People who live outside Shanghai said that they would rather not visit the Expo.

Q: Do you want to visit the Expo? [SA]
65% of all the respondents answered "I want to visit the Expo very much" or "I want to visit the Expo", which is a much higher rate compared to the rate of 21% of those who answered "I do not want to visit at all" or "I do not want to visit".
When we see by region, however, level of desire to visit the Expo outside Shanghai seems relatively weak as 30-40% of the respondents outside Shanghai showed negative attitudes towards this question, while more than 90% of Shanghai residents showed positive interest to visit the expo.

The exchange of cultures comes first of all as what people expect for Expo.

Q: What do you expect for Expo 2010 Shanghai China? [MA]
Regardless of the location, majority of the respondents chose "Exchange of foreign cultures and Experience of knowing foreign cultures"(72.0%) as what they look for in Expo, followed by "Experience of the latest technology in the world"(54.1%)and "PR of China"(43.6%) while the answer "Leisure/Entertainment as a sightseeing spot" rated only 21.0%.