IBTM WORLD EXPANDS GLOBAL REACH FOR 2015 SHOW

IBTM WORLD EXPANDS GLOBAL REACH FOR 2015 SHOW
Destinations including Bulgaria, Luxemburg, Paraguay and Sri Lanka confirmed to attend for the first time

ibtm world, formerly EIBTM, the leading global event for the meetings and events industry (www.ibtmworld.com), has confirmed that 2015 will see the largest number of new exhibitors to date.

New destinations and CVB’s include Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria; Secretaria Nacional de Turismo de Paraguay; Commune di Napoli; Ministere de l’Economie Direction Generale du Tourisme, Luxemburg; Ibiza Convention Bureau; Prague City Tourism; India Tourism; Basque Country Tourist Board – Basque Tour; Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria and Sri Lanka Convention Bureau.

Graeme Barnett, Senior Exhibition Director, ibtm world commented: “It’s great news for the meetings industry with so many new exhibitors joining us this year and others taking their own space for the first time. We are working closely with all exhibitors to help them make the most of their business objectives and that includes our newcomers. This personal attention and our focus to recruit top level buyers with proven budget and international business to place will help them all to make the most of their investment and win and secure future business at the event.”

Rob Davidson, Managing Director, MICE Knowledge and ibtm Industry Analyst comments, “The latest IAPCO (International Association of Professional Congress Organisers) Annual Survey and Review revealed continued growth for IAPCO members and the meetings they organise. Across all types of meetings, increases were seen compared with previous years. For example, the number of association meetings continues to increase and has now reached 3,111 compared with 2,153 meetings in 2010.”

In addition to a number of new destinations, ibtm world has also confirmed that suppliers including Dorchester Collection, Europalco, GOAPP, Sandals and Beaches Resorts, Etud Event Technologies, TapCrowd by etouches and World Hotels will also attend for the first time.

Companies providing products, services or technology solutions, interested in a stand and benefiting from access to a global network of powerful meetings industry buyers should contact ibtmworld.sales@reedexpo.co.uk or for further information about exhibiting options, please visit www.ibtmworld.com/exhibit

To find out more about the benefits of attending ibtm world as a trade visitor and to register, please visit: www.ibtmworld.com/visit2015

For further information about the Hosted Buyer Programme and its VIP benefits, watch the Hosted Buyer Journey video or apply for your place by visiting www.ibtmworld.com/hosted

IAPCO at the cutting EDGE

IAPCO at the cutting EDGE
The new educational offering “EDGE from IAPCO” was recently launched at IMEX.
No longer will the Annual Seminar be limited to Switzerland, the dynamic educational seminar will now be offered worldwide with three seminars per year in different regions.
EDGE – Experts in Dynamic Global Education – will provide education at three different levels: Level 1 – new to the industry with 2-3 years’ experience; Level 2 – intermediate, 5 or more years’ experience in this your chosen career path; Level 3 – senior project or departmental manager, or business manager/owner. Seminars that provide people with that edge they need in a global competitive environment.
Focused on professional congress organisation these seminars will replace the traditional Wolfsberg Seminar and will play an important role in international MICE education for the PCOs, Meeting Planners and the wider meetings industry. As hosts of the seminars, Destination Partners in IAPCO Education will be able to participate in the programme, showcasing their destination and bringing an international flavour to EDGE.

There are three EDGE programmes already in place: Auckland, New Zealand, 24-26 August 2015; Copenhagen, Denmark, 18-21 January 2016; Whistler, Canada, 25-27 May 2016.
Cutting EDGE seminars will now be delivered worldwide, affordable and accessible. Are you standing on the EDGE of the future?

MORE ABOUT IAPCO EDGE SEMINARS
About IAPCO: Meeting Quality
The International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) was founded in 1968, is registered in Switzerland and represents today more than 120 professional organisers, meeting planners and managers of international and national congresses, conventions and special events from 41 countries. IAPCO members [2014] organise in excess of 7075 meetings annually, totalling some 2.861 million delegates and representing an economic impact in the region of 4.63 billion euros. IAPCO is committed to raising standards of service among its members and other sectors of the meetings industry. Today IAPCO membership offers a unique quality assurance, since entry into membership of IAPCO is by meeting strict criteria and by continuous quality assessment. The high quality standards are secured by means of continuing education and interaction with other professionals. The Annual Seminars, The Meetings MasterClass and the Annual Meeting & General Assembly of its members are the highlight events of IAPCO.

For further information, please contact:
IAPCO Head Office: Brambles House, Colwell Road, Freshwater, PO40 9SL, UK Email: info@iapco.org www.iapco.org

IAPCO Annual Meeting in 2017

World’s most influential meeting planners to convene in Dubai for IAPCO Annual Meeting in 2017

Dubai, United Arab Emirates:
Dubai has won a bid to host the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) Annual Meeting & General Assembly in 2017. The annual event brings together approximately 100 of the world’s most influential conference organisers from 40 countries, who collectively manage approximately 7,000 meetings per year with a combined annual economic impact of over $5 billion US dollars.

Dubai’s hosting of the key meetings industry event was announced at the recently concluded IAPCO Annual Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal. The winning bid was spearheaded by Dubai Business Events (DBE), a division of Dubai Tourism which serves as the city’s official convention bureau, in close partnership with local IAPCO members Meeting Minds and MCI Dubai. Key tourism industry stakeholders Emirates and Madinat Jumeirah also played a key role in securing the AGM.

Commenting on the win, Steen Jakobsen, Director of Dubai Business Events, said:
“Part of our strategy to increase the number of visitors and business events hosted in Dubai every year centres on engaging with meeting planners and industry bodies from around the world to raise awareness about Dubai as a leading destination for international business events. By hosting the members of IAPCO, we are excited to be able to show what the city has to offer to a group of people who are highly influential in determining where major international meetings and association congresses take place every year.”

IAPCO, the leading authority on professional congress organisation worldwide, is the universally accepted benchmark for quality and excellence within the international meetings industry. By welcoming IAPCO members to Dubai in 2017, local tourism industry stakeholders will also have the opportunity to build relationships with key meetings decision-makers, and showcase their products and services first hand.

Commenting on Dubai’s bid, Michel Neijmann, current President of IAPCO, said:
“The quality of Dubai’s bid was outstanding and truly reflected the local co-operation of all stakeholders. The bid showed a great understanding and support of IAPCO’s quest for quality in the meetings industry, and there is no doubt that the spirit of Dubai will inspire the members of IAPCO to keep learning and developing their businesses.”

Medhat Nassar, CEO Meeting Minds Experts, the Dubai headquartered IAPCO member company, added: “IAPCO offers a unique quality assurance platform recognised by association, corporate and government clients, through applying a strict Quality Control process for its members. Winning the bid to host IAPCO 2017 is an excellent recognition of the Dubai meetings industry and a vote of confidence by highly influential Professional Conference Organizers in 40 countries.”

“We are truly delighted by the outstanding support extend by our bidding partners Dubai Business Events, MCI Dubai, Emirates and Madinat Jumeirah, which has been instrumental in putting forward this successful bid,” he added.

Amazing Start for IAPCO

Amazing Start for IAPCO

IAPCO General Assembly gets off to an amazing start as 80+ participants from 29 countries discussed and debated issues facing the meetings industry today. “Education drives Quality” pronounced Michel Neijmann President of the Association “And Quality is the core driving force of IAPCO”.

IAPCO is the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers, a quality-driven association with more than 120 members from 41 countries. Figures announced today showed that IAPCO members organised more than 7075 events last year with an economic impact of over 4.63 billion euros. It was also pleasing to note that after a fall in staffing levels in 2012 and 2013, there is now an upsurge with an 4.42% increase in permanent employment over the previous year.

2015 is the first time, in 46 years, that IAPCO has met in Portugal. Hosted by the two Portuguese members Leading Congress & Association Management and AIM Group International Lisbon, this General Assembly got off to a “wow” start with an illuminating visual display depicting the advanced state of the industry in the country. “We are delighted to be here” continued Michel, “and to experience the facilities of another important congress city. We expect to learn much over the coming days and thank our city hosts for their warm hospitality and welcome”.

About IAPCO: Meeting Quality
The International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) was founded in 1968, is registered in Switzerland and represents today more than 120 professional organisers, meeting planners and managers of international and national congresses, conventions and special events from 41 countries. IAPCO members [2014] organise in excess of 7075 meetings annually, totalling some 2.861 million delegates and representing an economic impact in the region of 4.63 billion euros. IAPCO is committed to raising standards of service among its members and other sectors of the meetings industry. Today IAPCO membership offers a unique quality assurance, since entry into membership of IAPCO is by meeting strict criteria and by continuous quality assessment. The high quality standards are secured by means of continuing education and interaction with other professionals. The Annual Seminars, The Meetings MasterClass and the Annual Meeting & General Assembly of its members are the highlight events of IAPCO.

For further information, please contact:
IAPCO Head Office: Brambles House, Colwell Road, Freshwater, PO40 9SL, UK