IBTM China 2018 closed on a high, with more than 6,600 pre-planned meetings happening during the two day-long event, which took place Sept. 12–13 at the China National Convention Centre in Beijing. More than 300 exhibitors from 20 countries were joined by more than 280 hosted buyers and 3,400 visitors for two days of meetings, networking and educational sessions.
“We are excited to be here this year,” says Hubertus Funke, executive vice president and chief tourism officer, San Francisco Travel. “San Francisco is a very popular destination for Chinese tourists. We received over 500,000 visitors this year and we hope to grow this number next year. We do attend some other IBTM shows around the world but it is our first time at IBTM China. This is a great opportunity for us to connect the buyers from all over the world.”
“I have attended IBTM China for over 5 years, so it is a great show for me,” says Kin Fun Michael Chow, corporate development and staff affairs, Provident Travel Group, Hong Kong. “The arrangement of the show and the organization is done really well. I have found some great suppliers and hotels for the Chinese market which is so important, and also discovered new regions in China outside of the main hubs.”
Hosted buyers attended from corporations including AVIAGE SYSTEMS, Danone Nutricia, ALE Co., Ltd, IKEA, DBS Bank, Mary Kay China, Carrefour China, Lenovo, NTUC Income, Philips, Novo Nordisk, Ping An Bank, Infinitus China, Sanofi, World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, HelmsBriscoe and Provident Capital Group Inc.
Exhibitors were a high-quality mix of domestic and international companies, including Accor hotels, Business Events Canada, Melia Hotels International, Floating Island Seoul, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, Beijing Exhibition Centre, JW Marriott Hotel Beijing Central, Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), and Shanghai International Convention Center.
The market-leading Knowledge Programme was once again very popular, with nearly 500 visitors this year attending sessions exploring topics across ten key areas. These included advances in the new wave of Chinese tech innovation and its effect on the global technology scene; a study into the associations market in China and how this will contribute to the growth of the industry; how to sell incentive travel to business leaders and an insight into the latest global industry trends report.
Nicole Ci, event manager, IBTM China, says: “In a dynamic market such as ours, there’s always a real buzz on the event floor and this year’s event was no exception. Reports from exhibitors and hosted buyers were that their meetings were extremely productive, which ultimately is what makes this a must-attend event. As always, there will be lots of learnings for us to takeaway and analyze to ensure that we evolve our event going forward. It’s important that we continue to deliver experiences that help our attendees make valuable new connections and access inspiring educational sessions to help them stay on the cutting edge of industry developments and deliver their own show-stopping events.”
For more info, visit http://www.cibtm.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 5 global and regional events providing business solutions on 5 continents. They include IBTM World, IBTM Arabia, IBTM Africa, IBTM Americas and IBTM China. For more info, visit www.ibtmevents.com
Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) is the world’s leading travel and tourism events organiser, 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, visit www.reedtravelexhibitions.com
