EVENT SHOWCASE

A PREVAILING INDUSTRY

IBTM World Barcelona was the first in-person event from the IBTM portfolio to take place in two years. Meetings delivers insights.

Based on the impressive engagement statistics coming out of IBTM World Barcelona, the show was a major success. Taking place between 30 November and 2 December 2021 in Barcelona, Spain, IBTM World closed with more than 7 000 attendees participating in 30 000 prescheduled one-on-one business meetings. The proof of the pudding was in the meetings satisfaction score, which averaged 4.7 out of 5 for the three-day event. According to a press release from the organisers of the event, feedback from delegates noted “the quality of their meetings and their optimism for the future”.

With more than 1 200 exhibiting companies across 70 countries attending the show, IBTM World also welcomed new exhibitors that included Manchester City Football Club, the Sardinia Convention Bureau, and The Celtic Collection.

IBTM World was also attended by 1 400 hosted buyers from 72 countries. With close to 50% being newcomers, there were plenty of networking opportunities, with fresh business prospects for exhibitors. NEW AND DIFFERENT

In an all-time first for IBTM World, the show’s Association Programme was supported by a key collaboration between regional organisations for association professionals. These were the African Society of Association Executives (AfSAE), American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), Asia-Pacific Federation of Association Organizations (APFAO), European Society of Association Executives (ESAE), and International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). The Association Programme was centred on three themes – exchange, inspire and solve – which, according to organisers, were designed to “spark fresh ideas, encourage peer-to-peer learning and sharing of best practice, and deliver tangible solutions to real issues facing the associations and events sector.”

The main overarching theme during IBTM World was ‘New Business, New Tech, New World’, with four topical themes: trends and technology; gamification and engagement; the future of event planning; and career and personal development. These sessions were

Digitalisation has been accelerated enormously since the Covid outbreak. Lockdowns and social distancing forced end-consumers and producers to make use of online channels to keep their operations alive. On the one hand, this rapid transformation has had heterogeneous effects on different sectors. While the food and beverage industry’s online consumption increased by 34%, travel services declined by 44%. On the other hand, consumer awareness and user experience have increased their influence on online purchasing behaviour.”

– Alba del Villar Olano, entrepreneur and keynote speaker at IBTM World

PARTICIPANTS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES

Marina Pegoraro, representative of Assessorato del Turismo Artigianato e Commercio Regione Sardegna “IBTM World has always been important for the region of Sardinia. Our partners have been able to reconnect with buyers and trade contacts, and tell the world about the region. It was invaluable for our stand sharers to attend the show to help gain exposure for their brands as we recover together from the pandemic. We would not have missed the opportunity to be part of the first major meeting and business trade show since the start of the crisis.”

Nick Tinker, sales manager: Event Solutions at Cvent “We’ve had a positive experience overall – for one, the fact that everyone’s here proves how much we’ve been longing to come back together for in-person events. Also, the quality of meetings this year has been fantastic; the footfall has been lower than previous editions, which is expected, but that’s allowed us to have higherquality meetings, have more time to build relationships, and make new connections. This has also meant that buyers did make an effort to speak with as many exhibitors and make the most of their attendance.”

Ben Myatt Trenholm, director: Speakers and Conferences at Thinking Heads “Three years ago, I didn’t have time to speak to all the people I wanted to in the timeframe I was given; this year, it has been much more meaningful to have full 20-minute conversations explaining to my prospective clients exactly what we do, and they also had the opportunity to explain what exactly they need. “I had 36 meetings in three days and some of these meetings were not even in my diary. The organisation and the content of IBTM World is always fantastic and I want to congratulate the entire team.”

Liat Zakai, project manager at Kenes “From an event organiser perspective, IBTM World was incredibly well run; from the shuttle at the airport, which made me feel like a VIP, to the offer of an additional night’s accommodation to make my stay more comfortable, I thought everything was very well thought out. The attention to detail was noticed and appreciated. Thank you for hosting this event and for bringing us back together.”

delivered by speakers from the UN, LinkedIn and BBC Creative, among others.

Meanwhile, IBTM’s Elite Corporate Programme sought to better understand the needs of hosted buyers.

REPORTING AND STATS

Day 1 of the show saw Alistair Turner, managing director of Eight PR & Marketing, presenting the latest IBTM World Industry Trends Report, with a comprehensive analysis of the future of meetings and events. In addition, key micro and macro trends affecting the industry, as well as the differences in global regions, formed part of the report presentation.

Organisers of the show say the IBTM World app celebrated a record year, with in excess of 3 600 app downloads, 142 000 page views, and a 60% adoption rate by hosted buyers.

Nearly 900 exhibitors, or 71% of all exhibitors, made use of the Emperia IBTM digital business card exchange system that saw over 20 000 digital business cards being exchanged during the show.

“For me personally, this has been an incredibly rewarding three days and it has been amazing to see people reconnect after so long apart. For many, this may have been the first event they’ve attended in two years, and it’s fantastic that we were able to play our part in bringing the industry together again,” stated David Thompson, event director of IBTM World, upon the closing session of the event.

“The whole team has worked exceptionally hard to make this event a success in quite challenging circumstances and I’m so proud of what we have achieved as a team. Stepping away from our screens and enjoying some face-to-face interaction, inspirational education sessions and one-to-one business meetings has been wonderful,” David concluded.

IBTM World Online took place between 14 and 15 December 2021 as an addendum to the inperson experience in Barcelona.