Delivering more North American Hosted Buyers than any other MICE exhibition, the Americas Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition (AIBTM) is said to have a significant increase in pre-scheduled appointments between exhibitors and Hosted Buyers at this year’s show. AIBTM 2014 is scheduled from Jun. 10-12 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.
Anticipated at AIBTM 2014 are 18,000 pre-scheduled appointments, a 20 percent increase over 2013 due to adding over 30,000 new association planners, corporate planners and other meeting planners to its database.
“Last year, the financial impact of the 15,000 pre-scheduled meetings was approximately $250 million in business placed worldwide. That number is certain to increase with the additional new appointments that will be scheduled,” said Michael Lyons, exhibition director, AIBTM.
Going through an extensive process, AIBTM selects the right Hosted Buyers and meeting planners.
“AIBTM post show research indicated that 90 percent of our exhibitors felt that AIBTM delivered the right audience,” added Lyons. “We are targeting planners specifically from the association and corporate sectors including more pharmaceutical and medical meeting planners, which is apparent through our new partnership with IMMPA, the International Medical Meeting Professionals Association.”
Controlling the product quality process helped AIBTM 2013 provide a mutually beneficial environment for all attendees. The show saw a 182 percent increase in the number of corporate buyers and a 24 percent increase in the total number of Hosted Buyers whose total in meeting spend exceeded $9 billion.
Last year, association and corporate buyers who attended the show included the American Bar Association, Starbucks, American Hospital Association, Verizon, Texas Instruments, Student and Youth Travel Association, Mortgage Bankers Association, and National Newspaper Association, along with many others.
AIBTM provides buyers with an environment to expand experience and gain new knowledge in order to reach designated goals.
“AIBTM gives IHG the opportunity to spend meaningful time with our buyers to discuss current and potential business as well as allowing our buyers to conduct research on potential venues and destinations. The appointment show format is designed for higher-value ROI for both the exhibitor and the Hosted Buyer,” said Anne Roth, IHG.
See related article:
Partnership with IMMPA to bring hosted medical buyers to AIBTM https://exhibitcitynews.com/partnership-immpa-bring-hosted-medical-buyers-aibtm
