Talking shop at ibtm arabia

AN exclusive event designed for meeting professionals in the Middle East, ibtm arabia (www.ibtmarabia.com), has confirmed that Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau will be the exclusive premier partner for the closed event, which is set to take place at the five-star, The St. Regis Hotel Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi, from February 10 to 12 this year.

PREMIER PARTNER

Lois Wilcox, exhibition manager, ibtm arabia, comments, “We are delighted to have Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau on board as our premier partner for ibtm arabia. Abu Dhabi is rapidly evolving into a world-class, sustainable meetings industry destination and our strong relationship with Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau has really allowed us to showcase the destination’s potential to prospective meeting planners from across the globe.

“This year, our exclusive one-to-one event will bring a whole new concept to the region, creating a three-day community where everyone does everything together; business, education and networking,” concludes Wilcox.

ibtm arabia has significant potential for growth for the global, regional and local meetings industry according to Mubarak Al Shamisi, director of Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau – a dedicated entity of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority charged with stimulating the meetings industry in the emirate.

“We are confident that our commitment to ibtm arabia will bring significant benefit to our growing meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice) sector, and expand awareness of our luxury, competitive destination to global industry players. As the premier partner for this year’s inaugural event, we will demonstrate a commitment to supporting our public and private sector partners to ensure Abu Dhabi remains front of mind as a leading regional Mice destination,” he adds.

At ibtm arabia hosted buyers and exhibitors are carefully selected using a quality over quantity approach. The event will have an equal number of hosted buyers and exhibitors and will not be open to trade visitors.

This new, closed-show format will ensure that buyers and exhibitors can focus solely on their business appointments and the new one-to-one mutual matching format will ensure that exhibitors attending can select the buyers that they want to meet with.

SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED

Reed Travel Exhibitions, organisers of ibtm arabia, has confirmed that Adrian Hayes and Phil Bedford are set to lead the knowledge forum, which will take place as part of the closed event’s Discovery Day on February 10.

The ibtm arabia Knowledge Forum will present the best speakers and thought-provoking topics to ensure that the attendees get even more out of their ibtm arabia experience and enhance their knowledge.

Wilcox reveals, “This year we have two contrasting but equally exciting speakers who are sure to inspire the participants and their business: Phil Bedford, who is the Middle East Master Franchise owner of The Referral Institute, an international referral training and consulting company with branches across the world, will open the door to the secrets of advanced networking in his session ‘Connections Mean Everything’.

“Adrian Hayes, whose session will bring inspiration from outside the meetings industry, is the British record-breaking polar explorer and adventurer, speaker, business coach, author and campaigner. An Arabic and Nepalese speaking former Airbus Middle East sales director and British Army Gurkha Officer, he has achieved more major goals the past eight years than anyone in the world, including his recent summiting of K2. He is now an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker and professional leadership, team and executive coach delivering seminars and programmes worldwide.”

DISCOVERY DAY

ibtm arabia Discovery Day is a brand-new concept introduced to the portfolio of ibtm events for both exhibitors and hosted buyers to attend a full day of experiential networking with the ibtm arabia community.

The full itinerary for ibtm arabia Discovery Day comprises two hours of experiential activities at Yas Island, which include Yas Marina Circuit - Hot Laps and a ride on the world’s fastest rollercoaster at Ferrari World. These activities will then be followed by a visit to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and lunch on a luxury cruise liner.

The afternoon programme will commence with refreshments before attendees receive an official welcome from the ibtm arabia team that will set the stage for an afternoon of education. The Discovery Day will conclude with a welcome networking reception, which is set to take place at St Regis Saadiyat Island.