EIBTM opens in Barcelona

The 21st European Incentive Business Travel and Meetings (EIBTM) exhibition began today in Barcelona, attracting more than 3,300 suppliers representing 80 countries to the Spanish city.

Some 3,800 international hosted buyers from 71 countries have registered to attend the show, making a record-breaking 54,255 pre-scheduled appointments with exhibitors — 4% up on last year. Meanwhile, numbers of pre-registered trade visitors have topped the 6,300 mark.

The event has also seen a 70% increase in those registering to attend the Association Programme and a 43% rise in registrations to the Corporate Programme.

First-time exhibitors this year come from hotel groups, technology companies, tourist boards, CVBs and venues. These include Tiara Hotels, Zaragoza CVB, Essence of Bali, Oberoi Hotels, Mozambique, Venezuela — INATUR, Seoul Convention Bureau, Senegal, Poznan and Centre de Congressos de Andorra.

EIBTM’s celebrate education programme, targeted at corporates, associations, agencies and suppliers, this year features 43 sessions, which includes the event’s largest ever bespoke Spanish programme.

Key educational highlights will be Rob Davidson, senior lecturer in business travel and tourism, University of Westminster, facilitating a seminar entitled: Motivating Generation Y — How you can design meetings and use technology to involve them? This forms part of the daily dedicated Technology Hour programme. Davidson will also be presenting the annual EIBTM Industry Trends and Market Share Report.

There will also be sessions on social media, the hottest technology products, a CSR Symposium, return on investment, meetings architecture, trends and business and market developments.

Summing up the importance of EIBTM to the international meetings industry, exhibition director Mandy Torrens said: «EIBTM delivers what it has always done — best business, best education and best networking. It is truly representative of what is happening internationally in the meetings industry on future trends, opportunities and developments.

«Our role is to act as a business, education and networking catalyst — to provide an environment and forum for the industry to end 2009 optimistically and uplifted, having come away with new and firm business leads, established new relationships and gained valuable insights into how to develop their businesses in the future.»