Reed expects a bigger ibtm next year

THE recently concluded ibtm arabia (previously called GIBTM) has become the first all-inclusive five-star meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice) event in the Middle East for international and regional suppliers and buyers. 

The event, which was held on the luxurious St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi mixed business with networking over three days in early February. 

“We redesigned the events to focus 100 per cent on the business meetings and the networking,” exhibition manager Lois Wilcox explains. “There are nine networking events this time, instead of two. So, the focus is more on building a business community; people are together from start to finish, for three days.”

The first day acts as an ice breaker and a great opportunity to socialise and network. Buyers, exhibitors and the media were shown around myriad attractions of the UAE capital, and attended two motivational speeches together.

The one-to-one business meetings followed the next two days based on exhibitor and buyer-preference matching. These meetings lasted 15 minutes though the ample networking opportunities ensured people could get straight down to business in their one-to-one meeting pods.

“Judging by the enthusiasm of our exhibitors and hosted buyers, we feel very confident that this new event format has been a huge success,” says exhibition manager Lois Wilcox. “Our strategy to mutually match the quality of both buyers and suppliers ensured their compatibility with each other. We also wanted to create a memorable experience and a strong community in addition to the valuable pre-scheduled appointments and that has been key to the success for everyone involved.”

The only Mice event in the region to bring international and regional hosted buyers and exhibitors in a one-to-one ratio format, ibtm arabia delivered more than 3,000 mutually matched and pre-selected appointments over two days of business meetings.

Exhibitors have lauded the new format as being more personal and with stronger business leads. It has been a great platform for networking, with no time being wasted. Some exhibitors have also said that ibtm arabia has been the most effective Mice event they have attended to date.

This year we have 504 hosted buyers and 98 exhibitors. Based on the feedback, we can be sure that the next year’s event will be larger. You can certainly expect an increase in exhibitors.

Next year, ibtm arabia will celebrate 10 years in Abu Dhabi. “Its importance to the region has been fundamental to the emergence of the Mice sector. When the event was launched there was very little infrastructure that supported meetings, conventions, events and incentives, but that has all changed,” adds Wilcox. 

The number of meetings in the Middle East has grown even quicker than in other regions – in fact, they have more than tripled over the last decade, according to Euromonitor’s International, Mice and Business Travel.

“In India and Africa, which are emerging markets, we have solutions that are price sensitive, and in Arabia in America, they want to focus on the business side of things, so we adapt to what the customer wants,” explained Sallie Coventry, the portfolio director for the ibtm events portfolio.

“Over the next five years we anticipate that the importance of the Mice sector will grow so that it will be the key to providing long-term sustainability to the sector in Abu Dhabi,” said Mubarak Al Shamsi, director of the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, partners and official hosts to ibtm arabia. “The Mice industry contributes to the emirate’s tourism particularly since business visitors tend to have a larger disposable income than leisure visitors, we are confident that the success of the new style ibtm arabia will result in new business for our partners.”

Abu Dhabi is a great platform for international Mice events; it has the calibre of hosting large groups, as was demonstrated last year when it hosted 10,000 Nuskin delegates from China. The emirate is also bolstering its popularity through popular culture, by being featured in recently released Bollywood films.