ANOTHER strong showing from the hotel sector, continued expansion of the hosted buyer programme and excellent exhibitor interest, including several new exhibitors, will combine to make this year’s Imex in Frankfurt another must-attend event from May 24 to 26.
Exhibitor demand from across the world continues to be high with new appearances including Dragonfly Africa (DMC) and Oberoi Hotels with Costa Rica, the Lithuanian Tourism Association and Latvia all making a welcome return.
Destinations increasing their stand size for 2011 include Thailand, Paris, Moscow, Hungary, the Netherlands and Switzerland as well as private sector companies including Carat Tours, Turkey, Abercrombie & Kent, Allied International and World of DMCs.
The Balearics, including Mallorca, will now exhibit on their own stand and new technology exhibitors will include Eventsforce and Showcare Event Management.
A strong turnout from the large international as well as smaller hotel groups will also be evident. Hyatt Hotels makes a welcome return whilst Accor, Arosa, Concorde, Corinthia, Mandarin Oriental and Steigenberger Hotels have all increased their stand sizes.
With the launch of Imex America having a positive effect on North American exhibitors eager to share in the proven business results that Imex delivers, the US area of the show floor continues to expand and includes destinations including Arizona, the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau and Las Vegas. Also new are this year’s Wild Card Winners - three destinations that are new to the international meetings and conventions market. Each has demonstrated both the ambition and sufficient infrastructure to win a sought-after free exhibition place at the show. Exhibiting on the Wild Card Pavilion in 2011 will be Mongolia, Budva in Montenegro and Jurmala in Latvia.
Around 20 new groups of hosted buyers will be attending the show as a result of fresh partnerships with CWT Group, IAEE (International Association of Exhibitions and Events), Ring Hotels, Select Group Marketing, SportAccord, SPIN – the Senior Planners Industry Network – and Smart Ideas Greece.
3,870 hosted buyers attended in 2010 and this is likely to be exceeded in 2011. The IMEX hosted buyer programme is supported by strong partnerships with Starwood, Marriott and Intercontinental hotel groups, all of whom bring their top clients to the show and continue to make a discernible impact on the high quality and number of buyers who attend.
The annual Imex Association Day, which takes place the day before the show opens, is now firmly established as an unmissable education and networking event for up to 300 international and European association meeting buyers.
Concurrent seminar topics for 2011 include ‘Lessons from cutting-edge medical congresses’ and ‘The impact of mobile apps and social media on associations and their meetings’.
Offering over 80 sessions, this year’s education programme will feature several brand new sessions and topics with many taking place on the CIC (Convention Industry Council) - sponsored Professional Development and Innovation Pavilion on the show floor.
A new Women’s Leadership Forum will be also led by Liz Jackson, president of Jackson Consulting and Susan Sarfati, CEO of High Performance Strategies. Other seminars will include ‘Build your perfect events team’ by George Sirius, CEO of Eventsforce Solutions and event management consultant, Richard John, will present a personal and professional development seminar on ‘The success pie’.
A new addition to the Imex education programme will be a series of hot topic ‘campfires’. These 30-minute sessions will be available to just 10 or 12 visitors offering an intimate setting to discuss subject matter with experts and peers.
There will be the chance for participants to hear the latest findings from the next phase of the Convention 2020 research report by Fast Future Research.