WITH the ninth Imex in Frankfurt set to take place from May 24 to 26, 2011, the award-winning tradeshow continues to focus on developing business opportunities for buyers and suppliers through the development of its hosted buyer programme, together with sustained innovation within its educational offerings.
In 2010, hosted buyers placed orders of $450 million during the exhibition and expected to place a further $2.2 billion of business with Imex exhibitors in the 12 months following the show.
Thirteen new hosted buyer groups are already confirmed for 2011, including Meetings in Europe, Carinho Hotels and Resorts, Hilton Montreal, Starwood Hotels and Resorts UAE and Dolce Hotels Switzerland. NH Hotels Czech Republic, Incentive Destinations, AV Business & Communication and Body and Soul International BV will also bring new groups. Buyer interest from Brazil continues to grow, with new groups set to attend from Tour House Brazil and Alatur. A new group of 10 North American association and corporate buyers from SPIN - the Senior Planners Industry Network - will also attend for the first time. In total 450 hosted buyer groups will be at the show as part of the almost 4,000-strong programme.
Demand for exhibition space remains exceptionally high with space increases having already been confirmed by exhibitors including the Hungarian National Tourism Office, Switzerland Convention and Incentive Bureau and East West Travel. Egypt’s presence will also be noticeable with a large new stand from the Cairo International Conference Centre (ICC).
Once again international hotel groups will prove a dominant and important part of Imex in Frankfurt with more than 40 exhibiting including Marriott, IHG and Hilton Hotels.
Imex in Frankfurt’s ties with the North American market continue to expand as planning for Imex America, which debuts in October 2011, goes from strength to strength. A growing US presence at the show in Frankfurt will include Las Vegas and the Venetian/ Palazzo Hotel, The Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, NYC and Company plus the Washington DC Convention and Tourism Corporation.
New themes and initiatives for the 2011 show include an expanding partnership with new meetings performance improvement company, Meetings Mindset. Using the latest research from behavioural science, Meetings Mindset has created a portfolio of innovative and interactive solutions dedicated to helping meeting designers create potent, dynamic and productive meetings. Imexand Meetings Mindset will be demonstrating the importance and power of these principles in a variety of creative ways.
Amongst a host of new sessions and topics, a brand new Women’s Leadership Forum will be launched and other sessions will include a series of hot topic ‘campfires’ offering fast-track introductions to fundamental business skills plus the chance to hear the latest findings from the next phase of the Conventions 2020 research study by Fast Future Research.