IBTM ARABIA TO CONNECT ELITE MICE INDUSTRY SUPPLIERS AND BUYERS IN DYNAMIC THREE-DAY EVENT

IBTM ARABIA TO CONNECT ELITE MICE INDUSTRY SUPPLIERS AND BUYERS IN DYNAMIC THREE-DAY EVENT

This year ibtm arabia 2016 will take place from 9th to 11th of February at The Jumeirah at Etihad Towers on the famous promenade of Abu Dhabi with views of the Arabian Gulf and Cityscape.

The Jumeirah is an iconic development showcasing some of the best meetings facilities that Abu Dhabi has to offer. The luxurious 5-star hotel offers prestigious features such as exquisite hotel rooms, fine dining, a health club and Talise Spa and two levels of boutique shopping at the podium. The property will create the perfect setting for bringing together meetings industry professionals from across the globe.

Shinu Pillai, Exhibition Manager, ibtm arabia, comments, “The industry in the Gulf region is growing and certainly Dubai 2020 is having an impact on international buyers looking to place business at ibtm arabia. But the focus of this event is about creating a community, providing a one-to-one ratio of buyer to supplier and to mutually match the appointments, which means both buyers and suppliers can select who they want to meet“.

“ibtm arabia creates a true industry community, where participants stay in the same hotel and attend the same activities, from meetings to lunch, drinks to dinner. This enables genuine ongoing relationships to develop which leads to real business. ibtm events are not about the size of an event, it is about making that event 100% valuable to all attendees.”

ibtm arabia 2016 has seen an increase in the total number of buyers attending, as well as an increase in corporate and regional buyers. This year’s event will feature an impressive line up of new, fully Hosted Buyers, including Egyliere (Egypt), Helen Holidays (Egypt), Pomalo Travel (Jordan), Dakkak Holidays (Jordan), Piece of Cake (Lebanon), Belair Travel & Tourism (Lebanon), Kanoo Travel (Saudi Arabia), Allama Company (Saudi Arabia), Expotrade Global (UAE), Abbott (UAE) and QnA International (UAE).

All Hosted Buyers are handpicked, personally invited and verified against a strict qualification criteria, which requires that they are senior level decision makers with proven budget and business to place internationally. 80% of the Hosted Buyers confirmed to attend ibtm arabia 2016 have a budget over $5 million and organise a variety of events; 90% organise conferences and meetings, 80% incentive travel, 71% business travel, and 59% luxury travel. Confirmed Hosted Buyers this year have also indicated a variety of product interests: 88% indicated an interest in hotels, 80% in Destination Management Services, 66% in conferences/meeting venues, and 63% in attractions and entertainment.

ibtm arabia will also feature a number of new exhibitors, including Fairmont, Raffles & Swissotel Hotels & Resorts, Alpha Destination Management, Attikos Ilios S.A., Europe Hotel LLC, Golden Tours, Hill MICE Saudi Arabia and Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. All exhibitors at ibtm arabia will have access to the pre-scheduled appointment system, which gives exhibitors access to the world-class corporate, association, agency and incentive buyers at the show.

Exhibitors will be able to pre-schedule appointments with the Hosted Buyers that they identify as relevant to their business interests with a diary of up to thirty appointments. Last year saw over 3,000 appointments between Hosted Buyers and exhibitors at ibtm arabia, which we expect to increase in 2016.

The ibtm arabia 2016 experience will also include a ‘Discovery Day‘, combining a dedicated Knowledge Forum with networking and activities around Abu Dhabi which will invite buyers and exhibitors to discover the region and specifically its leading MICE products and services while enjoying exclusive networking events.

The Knowledge Forum will feature world-class keynote speaker, Carol Talbot, who sets out to empower professionals and help them think differently about their approach to work. Her objective is to support professionals towards creating and delivering a vision for themselves, which will ultimately accelerate them towards succeeding in this industry. Carol will highlight the difference between those who attract success and those that don’t. She will also share some of her top leadership tactics, which will provide attendees with useful tips around how to influence people.

The combination of the pre-scheduled appointments and nine networking opportunities at ibtm arabia 2016 including Discovery Day, a Welcome Reception and Gala Evening ensures valuable touch points for everyone to help make meaningful connections.

Post show research from 2015 confirmed that 95% of both exhibitors and Hosted Buyers were satisfied with the event and the business they did. So, this year ibtm arabia plans to deliver the same experience, which will continue to deliver maximum return on investment for all suppliers and buyers participating.

For more information visit www.ibtmarabia.com

ibtm arabia delivers new format MICE event for the Gulf Region

ibtm arabia delivers new format MICE event for the Gulf Region

International Hosted Buyers from 36 countries representing key and influential planners of MICE business have descended on Abu Dhabi for an exclusive closed door one-to-one meeting format in a revamped ibtm arabia (formerly GIBTM).

Opening at The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi today, the event will be the only one in the region to introduce international buyers from Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, South America, Africa and the Middle East, all representing leading corporations, associations, and agencies, to a mix of suppliers from the region and overseas.

With twice as many exhibitors as GIBTM 2014, 24 will be participating for the first time. There will also be 5 new countries represented including Scotland, Ethiopia, Japan, Mexico and Canada.

“ibtm arabia’s successful introduction is an endorsement of the strength of Abu Dhabi’s MICE proposition and proves we have evolved an established industry event to make it more relevant for delegates, buyers and exhibitors,” said Mubarak Al Shamisi, Director of the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, a division of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi).

The new exhibition format provides a platform for Abu Dhabi’s MICE sector to introduce new products and services, and present their products to industry experts specialising in a number of diverse fields such as international corporate groups and the expanding local wedding business, and promote packages to the local and GCC markets.

The “new” event brings everyone together for three days during which they will participate in “Discovery Day” where both buyers and suppliers get a taste of Abu Dhabi, and the experiences it offers for the MICE industry, followed by the opportunity to attend the ibtm arabia Knowledge Forum giving inspiration from two thought provoking speakers. Two days of business will follow, where over 3000 appointments will be held between buyers and suppliers with a diary of up to 30 appointments for each of them, plus networking and social events will bring everyone together.

“The significance of ibtm arabia is fundamental to the continuing growth of the MICE sector and has been built on the success of GIBTM. This new format however, creates a community for this industry, and for the first time everyone will work, learn and network together giving endless opportunities to meet, connect and do business as well as make new friends. ibtm arabia offers real exclusivity and with the quality of both buyers and suppliers, matched to have real influence on each other, we believe this new formula can enhance the experience of all our attendees,” said Lois Wilcox, Exhibition Manager ibtm arabia.

Highlights of ibtm arabia include: Discovery Day, Knowledge Forum, Pre-scheduled appointments, 9 networking events.

For further information please visit www.ibtmarabia.com

 

ADRIAN HAYES AND PHIL BEDFORD TO LEAD IBTM ARABIA KNOWLEDGE FORUM

ADRIAN HAYES AND PHIL BEDFORD TO LEAD IBTM ARABIA KNOWLEDGE FORUM
Reed Travel Exhibitions Announces Final Programme Line Up for Discovery Day

Reed Travel Exhibitions has confirmed that Adrian Hayes and Phil Bedford are set to lead the ibtm arabia Knowledge Forum, which will take place as part of the closed event’s Discovery Day on the 10^th of February at the St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort.

The ibtm arabia Knowledge Forum will present the best speakers and thought provoking topics to ensure that the attendees get even more out of their ibtm arabia experience and enhance their knowledge.

Lois Wilcox, Exhibition Manager, ibtm arabia comments, “This year we have two contrasting but equally exciting speakers who are sure to inspire the participants and their business: Phil Bedford, who is the Middle East Master Franchise owner of The Referral Institute, an international referral training and consulting company with branches across the world, will open the door to the secrets of advanced networking in his session; “Connections Mean Everything.”

“Adrian Hayes, whose session will bring inspiration from outside the meetings industry, is the British record-breaking polar explorer & adventurer, speaker, business coach, author and campaigner. An Arabic and Nepalese speaking former Airbus Middle East Sales Director and British Army Gurkha Officer, he has achieved more major goals the past eight years than anyone in the world, including his recent summiting of K2. He is now an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker and professional leadership, team and executive coach delivering seminars and programmes worldwide,” Wilcox concludes.

Hayes comments, “I wear a number of different hats and have a whole series of speeches, seminars and programmes, but this one is purely about the stories and the challenges and, hopefully, some inspiration to everyone in conquering their own Everests.”

ibtm arabia Discovery Day is a brand new concept introduced to the portfolio of ibtm events for both exhibitors and Hosted Buyers to attend a full day of experiential networking with the ibtm arabia community.

The full itinerary for ibtm arabia Discovery Day comprises two hours of experiential activities at Yas Island which include Yas Marina Circuit- Hot Laps and a ride on the world’s fastest rollercoaster at Ferrari World. These activities will then be followed by a visit to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and lunch on a luxury cruise liner.

The afternoon programme will commence with refreshments before attendees receive an official welcome from the ibtm arabia team that will set the stage for an afternoon of education. The Discovery Day will conclude with a Welcome Networking Reception, which is set to take place at St Regis Saadiyat Island.

For further information please visit www.ibtmarabia.com

 

HOSTED BUYER PROGRAMME OPENS FOR IBTM AMERICA

HOSTED BUYER PROGRAMME OPENS FOR IBTM AMERICA

CHICAGO JUNE 2015
“Elite buyer community mutually matched in 1:1 ratio for new event”

The IBTM America 2015 Hosted Buyer registration goes live this week with applications already waiting for the qualification process to begin.

The new show format will see 250 suppliers meet with the same number of planners from the global meetings industry on a 1:1 ratio in the privacy of a unique meeting pod designed solely for the purpose of the diary of appointments each day. For the first time, the organisers Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) will be providing a mutual match appointment system based on the preferences of both buyers and suppliers resulting in up to 30 pre-scheduled appointments.

“Each elite Hosted Buyer will be invited to participate in this exclusive event where they will be mutually matched with exhibitors that meet their business needs. Hosted Buyers will be chosen based on their authority to organize, influence or make budgetary decisions for meetings, events, incentives and corporate travel. They will come from both the US and overseas,” said Jaime Rosov, IBTM America Event Director.

Hosted Buyers from associations, corporates, incentive houses and agencies are encouraged to apply providing they have potential and future business in the U.S. and international meetings industry.

The Hosted Buyers will meet with suppliers from the industry in the US as well as across the globe at IBTM America which will take place at the Skyline Ballroom at McCormick Place overlooking the Chicago city-scape from 9-11 June 2015.

Those qualifying can expect to be part of a programme that includes a fully hosted itinerary including flights and accommodation, access to a variety of networking events, participation in the new Discovery Day which will include the Knowledge Forum CEU accredited education sessions and the opportunity to apply for a pre or post-event tour.

To find out more about IBTM America 2015, please visit www.ibtmamerica.com