~ IBTM World Barcelona 2021 had 30,000 pre-scheduled meetings during three-day event –
IBTM World Barcelona, the first face-to-face event in the IBTM portfolio in two years, was hailed a huge success by organizers, with over 30,000 pre-scheduled one-on-one business meetings and over 7,000 attendees joining for quality one-on-one business meetings, networking, and education in Barcelona.
During the three-day event, the meeting satisfaction score rose to 4.7 out of 5, with many attendees praising the quality of their meetings and expressing optimism for the future.
The CVBs of Germany, Dubai Tourism, Istanbul, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungarian, Croatia, and Norway, Atout France, Meet in Ireland, Lithuania, Turespana Convention Bureau (Spain), Hilton, Titanic Hotels, Hyatt, and GL Events were among the 1,200 exhibiting companies from 70 countries who attended the three-day event. The Montalbano Group, Manchester City Football Club, Sardinia Convention Bureau, Basquetour, and The Celtic Collection were among the new exhibitors.
Commenting on their experience at IBTM World Barcelona, Marina Pegoraro, Executive Account, Regione Autonoma Della Sardegna, said: “IBTM World has always been important for the region of Sardegna. Our partners have been able to reconnect with buyers and trade contacts and tell the world about the region. It was invaluable for our stand sharers to attend the show to help gain exposure for their brands as we recover together from the pandemic. We would not have missed the opportunity to be part of the first major meeting and business trade show since the start of the crisis.”
Nick Tinker, Sales Manager at Event Solutions, Cvent, said: “We’ve had a positive experience overall, for one, the fact that everyone’s here proves how much we’ve been longing to come back together for in-person events. Also, the quality of meetings this year has been fantastic; the footfall has been lower than previous editions, which is expected, but that’s allowed us to have higher quality meetings, have more time to build relationships and make new connections. This has also meant that buyers did make an effort to speak with as many exhibitors and make the most of their attendance.”
Ben Myatt Trenholm, Director Speakers and Conferences at Thinking Heads said: “Three years ago I didn’t have time to speak to all the people I wanted to speak to in the timeframe I was given, so this year it has been much more meaningful to have full 20-minute conversations explaining to my prospective clients exactly what we do, and they also had the opportunity to explain what exactly they need.” “I had 36 meetings in three days and some of these meetings were not even in my diary. The organisation and the content of IBTM World is always fantastic and I want to congratulate the entire team.”
Over 1,400 high-quality Hosted Buyers from 72 countries attended, nearly half of whom were brand new to the IBTM portfolio, giving exhibitors with greater opportunity to do business with new contacts.
Liat Zakai, Project Manager of Kenes, said: “From an event organizer perspective, IBTM World was incredibly well run; from the shuttle at the airport, which made me feel like a VIP, to the offer of an additional night’s accommodation to make my stay more comfortable, I thought everything was very well thought out. The attention to detail was noticed and appreciated. Thank you for hosting this event and for bringing us back together.”
The European Society of Association Executives (ESAE), the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the African Society of Association Executives (AfSAE), and the Asia-Pacific Federation of Association Organizations (APFAO), as well as the International Congress and Convention Association, collaborated on the Association Programme for the first time this year (ICCA).
The event was organized around three main themes: inspire, exchange, and solve, with the goal of generating new ideas, encouraging peer-to-peer learning and sharing of best practices, and providing practical answers to real-world difficulties affecting the association and events industries.
In addition, IBTM’s Elite Corporate Program delved into critical insights aimed exclusively at corporate Hosted Buyers. The future of meetings, re-starting events and measuring their success, and peer-to-peer learning and insights are among the topics covered. American Express Meetings & Events provided support for this customized program of sessions.
There was a schedule of inspirational educational sessions around four topical themes: trends and technology, gamification and engagement, the future of event planning, and career and personal development, delivered by expert speakers from the United Nations Climate Change, LinkedIn, CrowdComms, VisitScotland, BBC Creative, and more, all under the theme of ‘New Business, New Tech, New World.’
The IBTM World Industry Trends Report, one of the industry’s most comprehensive and far-reaching studies on the future of meetings and events was presented by Alistair Turner on the first day of the show and touched on key trends affecting the industry, from the micro to the macro, looking at the differences in global regions, and investigating the role of vertical markets. The report can be downloaded by clicking here.
The much-anticipated Stand Awards were held this year, with Discover Moscow taking home the prize for Best Large Stand, and Beon taking home the award for Best Small Stand. The prize for best small stand went to Worldwide, and the award for best stand personnel went to Barcelona Convention Bureau.
With over 3,600 downloads, 142,000 page views, and a 60% adoption rate among Hosted Buyers, the IBTM World app had its best year ever.
Nearly 900 exhibitors, or 71% of all exhibitors, used Emperia IBTM’s digital business card exchange technology, which resulted in over 20,000 digital business card exchanges.
Commenting on the close of the event, David Thompson, IBTM World Event Director, said: “For me personally, this has been an incredibly rewarding three days and it has been amazing to see people reconnect after so long apart. For many, this may have been the first event they’ve attended in two years, and it’s fantastic that we were able to play our part in bringing the industry together again. “The whole team has worked exceptionally hard to make this event a success in quite challenging circumstances and I’m so proud of what we have achieved as a team. Stepping away from our screens and enjoying some face-to-face interaction, inspirational education sessions and one-to-one business meetings has been wonderful.”
As an extension of the in-person event in Barcelona, IBTM World Online will take place on the 14th and 15th of December 2021.
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