THE INDUSTRY RE-UNITES AT IBTM WORLD BARCELONA 2021 IBTM World Barcelona, the first face-to-face event in the IBTM portfolio in two years, has been hailed a huge success by organisers, with over 30,000 pre-scheduled one-to-one business meetings having taken place, and more than 7,000 attendees joining for quality one-to-one business meetings, networking and education in Barcelona. The meetings satisfaction score reached 4.7 out of 5 during the 3-day event with many attendees commenting on the quality of their meetings and their optimism for the future. Over 1,200 exhibiting companies from 70 countries around the world attended the 3 day event, including the CVBs of Germany, Dubai Tourism, Istanbul, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungarian, Croatia, and Norway, Atout France, Meet in Ireland, Lithuania, Turespana Convention Bureau (Spain), Hilton, Titanic Hotels, Hyatt, and GL Events. In addition, several new exhibitors attended, such as the Montalbano Group, Manchester City Football Club, Sardinia Convention Bureau, Basquetour, and The Celtic Collection. Over 1,400 high quality Hosted Buyers were present from 72 countries, and almost half were completely new to the IBTM portfolio, representing more opportunities for exhibitors to do business with new contacts. This year for the first time the Association Programme was created with the support of the 4 main global organisations for association professionals: European Society of Association Executives (ESAE), American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), African Society of Association Executives (AfSAE), and Asia-Pacific Federation of Association Organisations (APFAO), as well as the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). The programme followed 3 core themes: inspire, exchange and solve, 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. In addition, IBTM’s Elite Corporate Programme explored key insights specifically focused on the needs of corporate Hosted Buyers. Themes include: the future of the meetings experience, re-starting events and evaluating their success, and peer-to-peer learning and insights. This tailored programme of sessions was supported by American Express Meetings & Events. Under the theme of ‘New Business, New Tech, New World’ there was a schedule of inspirational educational sessions around 4 topical themes: Trends and technology; gamification and engagement; the future of event planning; and career and personal development, delivered by expert speakers.
BATH CONFIRMED AS DESTINATION FOR INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE The 13th International Meeting on Microbial Epidemiological Markers (IMMEM XIII) will take place in Bath, UK from 14-17 September 2022 at the Apex City of Bath Hotel and is expected to attract up to 400 delegates from all over the world. As well as being renowned as a top leisure destination, Bath has ideal facilities for conferencing with access into the city via Bristol Airport or by train, where delegates travelling on GWR services are eligible for discount-ted rail fares. Meet Bristol & Bath, the Convention Bureau for the region, supported the bid for the conference and have worked alongside the Head of Event Organisation at The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) to support with destination advice, venue and accommodation booking and connections with local suppliers.
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