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.

The World Travel and Tourism Council, WTTC, has confirmed that the 22nd Global Summit will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in late 2022.

The annual WTTC Global Summit is the world's most influential travel and tourism event. Saudi Arabia has been leading a new global approach to 'redesign tourism' and this summit in Riyadh will see industry leaders meet with key government representatives to boost support for the sector's ongoing recovery, moving it towards a more secure future, that is resilient, inclusive and sustainable.

The summit in Saudi Arabia will follow the next edition of the Global Summit that will take place in Manila, Philippines, from 14-16 March 2022.

Coinciding with the announcement, the latest WTTC research shows that the Middle East travel and tourism sector will grow 27.1% this year ahead of Europe and Latin America.

Research also shows that if governments prioritise travel and tourism, jobs in the sector could reach 6.6 million by 2022, approaching pre-pandemic levels.

CARIBBEAN TRAVEL MARKETPLACE 2022 WILL BE FACE-TO-FACE

CHTA, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, has confirmed that the40th edition of the event will be held in late April or early May in a destination yet to be confirmed and that it will once again have a face-toface format, resulting in the leading event in the Caribbean that aspires to bring together buyers and sellers of tourism products, goods and services in the region.

Following the success of the 2021 edition of CTM that saw CHTA expand and reach far beyond its traditional buyers in North America and Canada, allowing the association to reach Europe and other areas in which it has not been successful in the past.

The last edition of CTM, the 39th and virtual, included buyers from Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, France, India, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines , UAE, the United Kingdom and the USA.

SHENZHEN, CHINA HOSTS GREATER BAY AREA SPARTAN RACE

More than 3,000 participants took part in the Shenzhen leg of the Spartan race last month, with a half marathon (21kms with 34 obstacles) debuting in the city.

The race was held in OCT Farm, a recreation resort managed by Shenzhen's Overseas Chinese Town Holdings Company in the northern part of the city. The farm is aiming to be the first ecological culture and tourism resort next to an urban city of international level in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Racing in a tranquil rural area, participants experienced a brand-new exploration compared to previous races in mountains or forests.

The Region of Central Macedonia participated again this year in the 36th International Tourism Fair ‘PHILOXENIA’ with its own multithematic pavilion, promoting the multidimensional tourist character of its 7 Regional Units for all seasons, as well as local products.

During the exhibition, the new tourist campaign entitled "DO SOMETHING GREAT" was launched, as well as the new video promotion of Central Macedonia, which was selected by the Greek National Tourism Board (GNTO/EOT) to represent the country at the World Tourism Organisation annual conference.

The pavilion of the Region also hosted many public and private institutions of the region, among others, the University of Macedonia which provided the public with a virtual touring experience, the management body of the Olympus National Park and the association with the distinctive title "The Ode to Amphipolis". At the same time, (B2B) meetings were held with travel agencies and tour operators of the Greek and International tourist market.

Attracting investment from film, television, advertising and other audio-visual productions in the Region is the best tourist promotion for the region as a destination and this is exactly what Central Macedonia displayed at PHILOXENIA.

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT’S RECONNECT WA PACKAGE FOR WA BUSINESS EVENTS

A new tourism recovery package for Western Australia (WA) will see the State’s official convention bureau, Business Events Perth, receive UK£8 million in funding to attract lucrative business events to WA, which will help to support the state’s business event, hotel and hospitality industry.

The Reconnect WA funding package, a multifaceted package that targets tourists, skilled workers, international students and events, and aligns with WA’s Safe Transition Plan.

As well as the funding for Business Events Perth, the package includes a UK£35 million aviation fund directed towards re-establishing

international and interstate flight routes that were disrupted by the pandemic, as well as targeting new routes including Germany, India, China and Vietnam.

FIRST ICCA LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN MEETING 2022 HOSTED BY GUAYAQUIL

Guayaquil will host the 1st ICCA Latin America and Caribbean Meeting to be held in 2022, which highlights the offering of the city to be able to host such an important event which confirms it as a safe and ideal destination for meeting tourism. The Guayaquil Convention Bureau participated in the 60th ICCA 2021 Annual Congress recently.

Guayaquil will have the opportunity to promote the services it offers and how it contributes to the development of the meetings industry by generating international contacts and showing the tourist infrastructure that it has.

The World Tourism Forum Lucerne has appointed Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director of Abu Dhabi based Twenty14 Holdings, to its Global Advisory Board.

For over ten years, World Tourism Forum Lucerne (WTFL) has been bringing together industry experts, CEOs, investors and start-ups, establishing itself as a prestigious global platform for exchange. By fostering cross-generational collaboration, new ideas and solutions emerge to benefit tourism today and in the future.

Ahamed, who owns a several iconic properties across the world including the Great Scotland Yard in London, Waldorf Astoria - the Caledonian in Edinburgh, Pullman Downtown Dubai and Port Muziris in Kochi among others, joins a select group of the industry’s top stakeholders and decision makers who will collaborate on solving for future challenges in the travel and tourism industry.

Last month WTFL hosted an Innovation Festival in Andermatt in which Ahamed also took part at the event. At the hybrid conference, well-known personalities, discussed the tourism industry’s current challenges and demonstrated how these can be tackled with forward-thinking solutions.

NEW DESTINATION PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY OF ATHENS & IAPCO

The City of Athens and the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) are joining forces through a new Destination Partnership.

The Athens Development & Destination Management Agency (ADDMA) joined IAPCO in signing a 2-year Corporate Partnership Agreement.

As an official IAPCO Destination Partner, the City of Athens will strengthen its relations with the international community of Professional Congress Organisers through IAPCO’s highly accredited network of PCO members. ADDMA will leverage its international brand, ‘This is Athens’, to showcase the city’s dynamic growth. Athens has emerged during the last several years as a top-rated, sociallyconscious and sustainable destination for meetings and events.

FIT 2021 BUENOS AIRES - ARGENTINA

The 25th edition of the FIT Fair will took place, face-to-facet, from 4-7 December, at the La Rural fairground, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

FIT is considered a leading event and this year saw Uruguay as the guest country and Tucumán as the outstanding Argentine province.

41 countries participated in the event and the 24 Argentine provinces were present with colour and flair all offering the best of their tourism products.

In the B2B section, 4,500 business appointments were held, offering growth opportunities and an exchange for all in the sector.