IMEX 2008 produced particularly strong results for its sixth exhibition at Messe Frankfurt this year, as evidenced by final figures released by organisers, Regent Exhibitions.
The total buyer increase was 5.3 per cent against the previous year with hosted buyer and trade visitor numbers up to 8,751 (2007: 8,310). Much of this increase was attributed to a higher number of hosted buyers attending from markets outside of Western Europe, plus a 10.5 per cent increase in the number of German trade visitors attending.
IMEX also succeeded in fulfilling its objective to secure a larger number of association meetings buyers.
As a proportion of total hosted buyers at IMEX, association buyer numbers rose to 12.5 per cent, up from 11 per cent last year. A record 270 buyers from 30 world markets also attended the IMEX Association Day on April 21.
IMEX’s commitment to deliver more hosted buyers from long-haul markets was also restated on the last day of the show, which had seen the number of long-haul buyers attending more than triple in just two years.
Hosted buyers this year travelled from all major Western European destinations, as well as markets including China, India, Japan, Brazil, UAE, South Africa and the USA.
Improvements to its online diary system also led to a surge in pre-organised appointments by hosted buyers this year.
IMEX 2008 was also marked by a strong lead on a number of influential and topical industry issues. The Messe Frankfurt trade show was the greenest yet with many green innovations.
Next year all exhibitors will have the option of using green energy for their power supply during the exhibition.
New for 2008 was the Green Supplier Award, which was won by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. In addition, Norgene Pharmaceuticals (working with WorldEvents) walked away with the Commitment to the Community Award which recognises the growing importance of corporate social responsibility within the global meetings industry.
IMEX 2009 will take place from May 26 to 29.