Our 2010 event will be held at Shanghai Wharf, Shanghais' newest and most exclusive Cigar lounge and exclusive product launch venue. Located by the Huangpu River, as past of Shanghai Expo 2010, the exclusive Casa De Tabaco Luxury yacht will be moored outside. It will be the premier location in the city for promoting luxury and lifestyle product into China. With the best foods, finest wines and vintage and rare whiskies, it is the perfect spot to unwind or impress potential business partners.

Attendees are drawn from the cream of the premium consumer distribution network, upmarket tobacco retailers, five-star hotels and top-ranked restaurants, lounges and bars. These are the ambassadors who will promote premium tobacco and its finest brands to the over 400 million Chinese smokers.

Also attending will be very senior representatives of STMA (State Tobacco Monopoly Administration of China), the Chinese tobacco monopoly, and China’s leading para-governmental tobacco groups such as China National Tobacco Corporation, high-ranking government officials, property developers and domestic and international media.

Casa de Tabaco’s participants will represent a global spectrum of the top premium tobacco manufacturers, tobacco groups, accessory manufacturers, lifestyle brands and smoking venue architects and designers.

Every participant represents a company with a deeply vested interest in promoting premium tobacco, and specifically cigar culture in the Chinese market, developing and expanding its prominence and infrastructure to serve the interests of the rapidly growing premium tobacco consumer, as well as developing successful relationships with the Chinese government to keep China a tobacco-friendly nation.

This is not an event for standard consumption cigarette companies — this event caters only to the elite of the premium tobacco industry.

Every information session and panel discussion will feature undisputed experts in their fields. Speakers will include senior government representatives from STMA, leading academics, master cigar rollers, tobacco group representatives, tobacco advertising, marketing professionals and premium brand ambassadors.

Though not invited to the forum proper, the end consumer market in China is very exciting. Nation-wide media coverage of the event will ensure both cigar and brand awareness to millions of smokers. With ever increasing development and a growing population of the neuveau riche, China’s wealthy consumer base is ready to embrace premium tobacco and all of its trappings.

Consumer interest will be stimulated through a series of sponsored B2C promotional events, where selected restaurants and lounges will collaborate with one premium brand to host guided tastings, cigar dinners or smoking speakeasies for an audience of Shanghai’s new elite, who will donate €300-500 per person to charity for the privilege of attending.