Jul 22
Ashley SpitzerTips for Meeting Planners, Trade Shows advisory council, imex, meeting ideas, overseas meetings
If you were unable to travel to Frankfurt in May for IMEX, it’s not too late to beef up your industry knowledge!
Show organizers have made 53 presentations available for free download on the IMEX website, including all of the German language seminars (organized by the German Convention Bureau).
Several presentations are available via webcast, including:
A Clear Pond Has No Fish – Is Transparency the Enemy of Profit: Roslyn McLeod, Managing Director, arinex pty ltd and Philippe Fournier Vice President of IAPCO and Managing Director of MCI, Paris
The Impact and Implications of the Iceland Volcano Eruption: Martin Sirk CEO of ICCA
Emerging Destinations – How to establish and build a CVB: DMAI
Develop Your Personal Branding: Mary Power, Executive Director of the Human Resource Certification Institute (and a ConventionPlanit.com Advisory Council Member!)
Convention 2020 – The Future of Meetings, Venues and Destinations: Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future Research
Getting Competitive Advantages from Culture in the Meetings Market: Michael Gates, Managing Director of Richard Lewis Communications
Be sure to check these out – before you know it, IMEX 2011 will be here!
Jun 02
maureen-pickellTrade Shows imex, meeting industry, overseas meetings, upcoming meetings industry events
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!
Jun 02
maureen-pickellNews, Trade Shows imex, meeting education, meeting experiences, meeting industry, overseas meetings
I have successfully returned from Frankfurt, but before jetting off to my next destination, I had to share some experiences from the remainder of IMEX from last week!
The Berlin Convention Bureau hosted the ConventionPlanit.com group with a breakfast and presentation. Fresh from being named the 4th most popular association meeting destination by ICCA, Heike Mahmoud took us on a slide and video tour of this exciting city. And the breakfast buffet stoked the group for a day of appointments! Vielin Dank to Berlin!!
The IMEX Daily newspaper featured an article entitled “Response time guarantee ends planners call backs” highlighting the ConventionPlanit.com 24 Hour Guarantee for RFP’s submitted to Caribbean and North American properties. And IMEX attendees actually read this Show Daily!
The first day on the trade show floor started off with the Ovation Global team giving the ConventionPlanit.com group a geography lesson based on the locations of their DMC portfolio members, and it ended with a clever game of Concentration in which the Switzerland Convention Bureau challenging our group members with matching tiles highlighting Swiss venues and events. In between we were educated by Malaysia and feted by Singapore – Singapore Slings being their traditional way to end a hectic day!
Speaking of which, Atout France (French Government Tourist Office) helped to revive our intrepid planners with their famous wine, cheese, pate and some German beer thrown in for good measure at their annual first night event. A sudden shower refused to dampen spirits at the outdoor gathering and all the French partners are to be commended for spreading around their special brand of joie de vivre!
IMEX Wrap-Up to come…
Mme. Blogger
May 26
maureen-pickellTrade Shows imex, meeting industry, overseas meetings
Greetings from IMEX – where 8 of the ConventionPlanit.com Hosted Buyers attended IMEX Association Day – a unique annual event for association meeting planners which focuses exclusively on professional education and round-table debates with each session tailored specifically to address the professional concerns of association executives.
Sessions concurrently during the day to allow delegates to achieve maximum return from their time. Association buyers regularly account for approximately 12% of IMEX’s hosted buyers each year. As such, they deliver huge buying power and influence to the show. The day was capped off by an elegant reception at the Westin Hotel Frankfurt.
Also ending the day on Monday (or starting the IMEX Trade Show segment – depending on how you looked at it) was the first European SITE NITE held at the Frankfurt Intercontinental. Sponsored by the hotel and Abu Dhabi, planners and suppliers mixed and mingled for the benefit of the SITE Foundation…and a lovely time was had by all!
Trade show tomorrow – countdown to business!
May 24
maureen-pickellTrade Shows imex, meeting attendance, meeting experiences, meeting industry
Greetings from Sunny, Warm Frankfurt! Your intrepid ConventionPlanit.com Blogger arrived today to be ready to welcome our 16 hosted buyers to the IMEX 2010 Extravaganza!
Lufthansa provided their usual fine service, hampered only by wind shear issues that delayed the departure. At least volcanic ash wasn’t the culprit!
Beginning tomorrow with Association Day, our planners will be educated and entertained by suppliers from around the world for three days. Thanks go out to Stephanie Kreps, ConventionPlanit.com Marketing Coordinator Extraordinaire, for handing all the arrangements for the Group.
I’ll be busy setting up the CP stand and preparing for the Meet & Greet Reception at the Maritim Hotel.
Looking forward to a great week..more to come!
Feb 22
Ashley SpitzerTrade Shows imex, meeting industry, Trade Shows, upcoming meetings industry events
If you’re a meeting planner, your chances of attending IMEX America for free through a hosted buyer program have just increased 30%!
IMEX America announced today that 2,000 qualified planners will be hosted – the largest number for any US trade show.
The show will take place at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas October 11-13, 2011. Hosted buyer qualification will use the same guidelines IMEX Frankfurt uses.
If you are interested in attending the show with the ConventionPlanit.com hosted buyer group, please email stephanie.kreps@conventionplanit.com!
Jan 25
Ashley SpitzerTrade Shows ASAE & the Center, imex, meeting industry
Today is the first day in the Washington DC area the temperature has hit 60 degrees since winter kicked in, and we’re already excited for spring!
Be sure to mark your calendars for these spring industry events:
May 27
Ashley SpitzerMember News, News, Trade Shows Face to Face Meetings, imex, Maison de la France, meeting industry, overseas meetings
Maureen Pickell & Julio Rodriguez are having some great “face to face” time at IMEX in Frankfurt, Germany this week.
This year’s IMEX is the most successful to date with 3,500 exhibitors from 157 countries!
The ConventionPlanit.com Hosted Buyer Group was entertained royally by the Maison de la France at a very creative venue (the top floor of a parking garage!) with champagne, wine and regional cuisine from France.
Are you at IMEX? Regale us with your most interesting face to face!
Apr 07
Ashley SpitzerMisc Tidbits, News, Tips, Tips for Meeting Planners economy, imex, meeting education, meeting industry, Tips for Meeting Planners
• Are we seeing the green shoots of recovery?
• Where will growth develop?
• Which market segments will be most resilient?
• When will activity pick up?
If you want the answers to these questions, register for IMEX’s free webinar:
Wednesday, April 22, 12:00 PM EST
At the recent G20 Summit in London, world leaders claimed that the global economy would soon start to see the ‘green shoots of recovery’.
But where will these shoots bud in the meetings industry and where is growth most likely to develop?
Leading corporate meetings experts – Christine Duffy, President & CEO of Maritz Travel; Luca Favetta , Director Global Events EMEA & Asia Pacific for SAP, Andrew Latta, Head of Corporate Events – Aviva, and David Kliman, President of The Kliman Group will explore the issues driving the debate.
This hour-long webinar will look beyond the immediate crisis and negative PR stories to focus on where growth is going to come from, how companies are revising their live events strategies, which market segments are likely to be most resilient, and when activity is likely to start showing significant increases.
May 15
Ashley SpitzerMember News, Trade Shows imex, meeting industry, World Marketing Group
President of the World Marketing Group, Ltd., and ConventionPlanit.com member Jane Schuldt, CITE received the 2008 IMEX Academy Award for the Americas last month in Frankfurt…
…Congratulations!
The awards are designed to recognize the tremendous contributions given by unsung heroes to the meeting industry.
Jane has served as President of SITE (Society of Incentive and Travel Executives) and the SITE Foundation, and works tirelessly to develop younger members of the industry. She is an acclaimed global leader who has given even ConventionPlanit.com valuable advice!
Who is your unsung hero for the industry? What are their contributions?
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