EIBTM this year was a hugely successful show

EIBTM 2012, the annual hub for the global meetings industry, continued its onward journey through growth and innovation with the largest Hosted Buyer program to date, the most dynamic Future Events Ex

EIBTM 2012, the annual hub for the global meetings industry, continued its onward journey through growth and innovation with the largest Hosted Buyer program to date, the most dynamic Future Events Experience, the first EIBTM Hybrid Conference streamed globally, over 110 tailored education sessions, and the launch of the EIBTM Forum.

Graeme Barnett, Reed Travel Exhibitions, EIBTM Event Director, commented: โ€œWe judge our success by the opinions of our customers, and so far without doubt, this has been a hugely successful show. The positive feedback received from attendees at the EIBTM Forum has ensured it will become a regular part of the EIBTM program. Weโ€™ve also delivered our most successful Hosted Buyer program to date, with over 4,100 international Hosted Buyers, which is what we hope provided real business opportunities to our exhibitors.โ€

Hosted Buyer, Mohammed Al-Qassmi, Travel and Insurance, Senior Supervisor, Human Resources Directorate Qatar Foundation, commented: โ€œI have had a very good experience at EIBTM and have found a number of new hotels that really add value to our offering. I have 100% achieved all of my goals, and I am really happy that I came. I will definitely be coming back.โ€

Barnett continued, โ€œThis yearโ€™s EIBTM may have celebrated 25 years, but it has also been a futuristic experience with the buzz of the world of technology and social media featuring in almost every part of the show. The Future Events Experience has been incredibly popular this year โ€“ not surprising as it had some real innovations this year demonstrating what the industry could look like in the near and distant future. There is a lot we can look forward to including holographic imaging and video-enabled business cards. We have even entered the world of augmented reality already with our own virtual sales brochure popping out from the handsets and tablets of our team onsite.โ€

The first EIBTM Hybrid Conference streamed keynote panel discussions and educational seminars for a full day during the event. Mandy Torrens, Head of Marketing and Buyer Programs, IBTM Events Portfolio, commented, โ€œVirtual and hybrid events are of interest to our participants, so it was important for us to innovate in this area, extending the reach of the show.โ€

Attendees of the conference commented via Twitter:
@firenze_cb: Connected to #EIBTMHybrid, brilliant idea!
@gaganovakovic -Attending #EIBTMHybrid from Serbia! Great!
@elizabethglau – Viewing sessions streaming live from Barcelona at #eibtm25 #eibtmhybrid from Los Angeles, California at midnight!
Siam Thomas – #EIBTMHybrid love the virtual conference seminars

The social media activity generated through this event exceeded all expectations, and according to Tweet Reach, #EIBTMHybrid reached over 26,800 accounts and had over 71,000 impressions.

EIBTM 2012 also delivered the largest education program to date with over 110 sessions including tailored streams for Corporate, Association, Agency, and Business Travel.

Elling Hamso, Managing Partner, Event ROI Institute, commented, โ€œThe educational program gets better every year. The Future Events Experience is also a good example of innovation showing EIBTM maintaining a leading industry position.โ€

Amiando, exhibiting at EIBTM commented: “EIBTM 2012 has been very good; the audience is very international which is perfect for us as we are an international company. EIBTM is our most important show, and it gets better every year. We have had many UK and Russian leads which has been great, and itโ€™s fantastic to meet with our clients face to face.โ€

Barnett concluded, โ€œWe end Barcelona on a real high with sunshine, and we start work on EIBTM 2013, and its new dates of November 19-21 in the Fira Gran Via Barcelona.โ€

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For further information go to www.eibtm.com

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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