WITH numbers up 11 per cent on 2010, this year’s Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM), which was held recently in Abu Dhabi, was the most successful in the event’s five year history.
GIBTM 2011 attracted more than 2,100 visitors and 20 per cent more exhibiting companies - in actual numbers 275 - from nearly 20 international countries participated in this year’s show. GIBTM’s professional education programme saw numbers top 300, which is nearly double the amount of participants in comparison to 2010 - another record for the event.
Summing up the week’s event, Lloyd Kenyon, GIBTM’s exhibition manager, said: “The event went extremely well, the feedback we have been getting from exhibitors is that they are very happy and that it’s an improvement on 2010, we didn’t bring the same quantity of buyers this year but what we are hearing is that the quality is better, those who are here are here to do business.”
He added that bringing the seminar theatre onto the exhibition floor had created an added buzz on the floor and increased attendance massively with visitors able to go in and out rather than having to leave the floor to attend events.
And the views from the floor bear out Kenyon’s views on the success of the show with Dennis Speet, director of marketing and sales of the International Congress and Convention Association saying: “We decided to attend GIBTM to make new contacts. We have 30 members from the Middle East and many of our international members have been present at GIBTM this year including Thailand, Malaysia, Egypt, Turkey, Korea and Indonesia to name but a few.”
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11 per cent more visitors attended this year’s show |
Khameis Al Hefaity of Fujairah Tourism, which was exhibiting for the first time at GIBTM, said: “What differentiates Fujairah from other destinations besides the sun, sand and sea is that we also have mountains, several historic sites and the Al Wurayah waterfalls, from where the entire valley can be seen. GIBTM is a great show and we now have many good business leads.”
Nia Niscaya, director of Mice Ministry of Culture and Tourism Indonesia, added: “Compared to last year, this year has been much better. The event is Middle East but we have had inquiries from many other areas including China and Europe and interest for groups up to 2013.
“We will definitely be coming back next year. You have to make the most effective use of your budget which is what GIBTM represents for us.”
Many of the hosted buyers in particular were highly enthusiastic about the potential for business within the UAE. Rose Zhang, deputy director of CTS Mice Service, for instance, said that the UAE is becoming more and more popular among Chinese people. “It is a relatively new destination for us and GIBTM gives us a chance to enter a new market and work closely with the UAE. There are numerous Mice facilities present, with many more in development, making it an ideal place to plan meetings and exhibitions.”
“With record numbers packing into the seminar theatre and exhibitors and hosted buyers alike reporting record numbers of meetings, it will indeed be a major challenge for next year’s show to be even bigger and better than this year; but rest assured that this will be our aim. We look forward to seeing all our 2011 visitors and exhibitors next time, while hopefully attracting newcomers to make GIBTM 2012 yet another record breaking show,” Kenyon concluded.