IMEX 2010 Wrap Up

Jun 02

maureen-pickellTrade Shows imex, meeting industry, overseas meetings, upcoming meetings industry events No Comments

Greetings from the U.S.A.!

IMEX 2010 came to a close at Messe Frankfurt on Thursday, May 27  and the intrepid ConventionPlanit.com Hosted Buyer Group enjoyed a busy last day.

We had presentations by the Mexico Tourism Board and the Dubai Convention Bureau and enjoyed learning about “what’s new” in the MICE arena for each country.

The award-winning show once again set new records for hosted buyer numbers and countries represented.  A record number of well over 3,800 hosted buyers from more than 60 markets attended this year’s show, among a visitor total of nearly 9,000!

The mood amongst buyers and exhibitors was also positive and optimistic, with many reporting increases in levels of business and appointment numbers.

Individual and group appointments rose by 14% this year, which represents a total of 57,000 business appointments made between buyers and exhibitors before and during the show.

“The past couple of years have challenged our industry on many fronts, not least economically, but I am delighted that both buyers and exhibitors have voted with their feet and turned up in greater numbers than ever to do business at IMEX this year,” said Ray Bloom, IMEX Group Chairman.

Padraic Gilligan, Managing Director of Ovation Global DMC, described the most recent turmoil quite succinctly when he stated,

“This year I have learned how resilient we are and everyone has learned to expect the unexpected. Just when “green shoots” were beginning to appear for the European meetings industry, they were covered by the thick veil of grey volcanic ash. Next year I predict we’ll have a plague of locusts but we’ll deal with that too.”

This traveler is ready to look ahead for IMEX America in Las Vegas this fall, and IMEX 2011, of course!