IBTM Americas 2018, the newest event in IBTM’s global portfolio of meetings, incentive, conference and events industry tradeshows, was hailed as a great success by exhibitors and hosted buyers with more than 12,500 pre-planned meetings during the two-day event, which took place from Sept. 5-6 in Mexico City.
More than 400 exhibitors took stands at the show, representing a 50 percent increase on last year, with international exhibitors making up 54 percent of the total. A high-quality group of more than 785 hosted buyers attended from across North America, Latin America and Europe, 45 percent up on last year. Hosted buyers included Nokia, Interamerican Development Bank and AXA Insurance.
As well as one-to-one business meetings, the event featured a packed schedule of more than 50 tailored knowledge sessions accredited by the Event Industry Council. This was aimed at event planners and buyers looking to stay ahead of trends and learn about the industry’s hottest topics in the emerging South, Central and North American meetings and events market.
These included a session on how to organize events with minimal environmental impact; a presentation from American Express Meetings and Events on how understanding your attendees can lead to better events success; a study by C2 Montreal on why disruptive ideas are reinventing the business conference; and insight from IACC on their future of meetings research.
Attendees also got a snapshot of the latest start-up tech companies through the event’s Innovation Zone by HMD, with more than 12 exhibitors presenting sessions on innovation in events. Also new this year, was a special trends and innovations showcase on day two—a program of tailored presentations given by industry leaders on the latest and most cutting-edge industry developments and how they could impact future events.
Hosted buyers were treated to an exclusive tour of Mexico City on day one of the event, which included a guided tour to the Teotihuacan pyramids and caves. This was followed by a welcome party that took place at Jose Luis Cuevas; an emblematic museum of Mexico City. Two more networking events took place during the show, to give attendees optimum opportunities to do business.
Commenting on the event, David Hidalgo, show director, IBTM Americas, says, “We’re delighted with our first successful edition of IBTM Americas with its new, broader geographic remit. We welcomed a large number of high quality hosted buyers and exhibitors, who we know from our preliminary feedback all enjoyed productive business meetings. This year’s comprehensive Knowledge Program, set in an open room with personal audio, was also well received by attendees, who appreciated the relevant and engaging content.”
“With the market in Latin America still very much in its ascent, we are looking forward to continuing to grow this event,” Hidalgo adds, “and we will gather and assess all of the feedback from this year to ensure that our event continues to not only help people do business, but also inspires them to create their own extraordinary events.”
Attracting more than 4,000 visitors each year, IBTM Americas is built around two days of pre-planned, mutually-matched business meetings. The event is the result of the amalgamation of IBTM’s successful Latin America event with its North American event. The decision to merge the two events was taken in 2017 to enable IBTM to capitalize on the growing success of its Mexico City event and the rapid development of the market in that region, while allowing for growth in the North America market. For more info, visit www.ibtmamericas.com/
IBTM, part of Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) is the world’s leading showcase for the meetings and events industry (also known as MICE) with a portfolio of five global and regional events providing business solutions on five continents. They include IBTM World, IBTM Arabia, IBTM Africa, IBTM Americas, IBTM China. For more info, visit www.ibtmevents.com
Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) is the world’s leading travel and tourism events organizer, with a wide-ranging portfolio of 22 international events in 13 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa. Its market-leading, business-to-business events cover all elements of travel and tourism, including leisure travel, luxury travel, meetings, events, incentives and business travel, as well as golf travel. For more info, visitwww.reedtravelexhibitions.com.
