BARCELONA — IBTM World 2021 attracted more than 1,400 buyers and 1,200 exhibitors to Barcelona last week, sharing several industry successes over its three-day run. The show, organised by Reed Exhibitions, was the first in the IBTM portfolio – with six shows across the meetings, conventions, incentives and trade shows sector – to be held in two years.
For starters, IBTM World’s meeting matching process delivered the same average number of meetings per hosted buyer and exhibitor as in 2019, with 30,000 one-to-one meetings over three days. Surprisingly, 42% of buyers were new to IBTM’s portfolio. Organizers reported a meeting satisfaction score of 4.7 out of 5, with many attendees commenting on the quality of their meetings and seeming optimistic about the future.
The IBTM World app had its best year ever, with an adoption rate of over 60% among hosted buyers. On the exhibitor side, 71% of all exhibitors used IBTM’s digital business card exchange system, with over 20,000 digital business cards exchanged.
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Speakers from the UN on Climate Change, LinkedIn and BBC Creative, among others, participated in training sessions. For the first time, the training programme for associations was created with the support of four major organisations: the European Society of Association Executives, the American Society of Association Executives, the African Society of Association Executives and the Asia Pacific Federation of Membership Organisations, as well as the International Congress and Convention Association. On the corporate side, the IBTM Elite Corporate programme, supported by American Express Meetings & Events, focused on topics such as resuming events and measuring their success.
Additionally, the IBTM World Industry Trends report was presented by Alistair Turner on the first day of the show and covered the key trends affecting the industry, from micro to macro.
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“It’s been an incredibly rewarding three days and it’s been great to see people reconnecting after such a long time apart,” said David Thompson, IBTM Global Event Director. “For many, this may have been the first event they’ve attended in two years, and it’s fantastic that we’ve been able to play our part in bringing the industry together again. We’re delighted to be able to step away from our screens and enjoy face-to-face interactions, inspiring training sessions and one-to-one business meetings.”
Contact David Thompson at dthompson@reedexpo.co.uk