IBTM AMERICA 2016 SET TO PROVIDE VALUABLE BUSINESS CONNECTIONS WITH IMPRESSIVE LINE-UP OF GLOBAL HOSTED BUYERS
81% of Hosted Buyers looking to place business internationally
ibtm america 2016 (www.ibtmamerica.com), taking place from June 15-17 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, has confirmed an impressive global line-up of Association, Agency and Corporate Hosted Buyers attending from the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Asia and more.
Registered Hosted Buyers have confirmed their product interests among exhibitors, with hotels and conference/meeting venues being the top two picks. Other event products to make the list include special event venues, Destination Management Companies, resorts and spas, and destinations. Among those buyers the two most popular event types were conferences/meetings and incentives, followed by exhibitions, conventions/congresses, staff training/motivation, and business and luxury travel.
Jaime McAuley, Event Director, ibtm america commented, “We have a great line-up of Hosted Buyers this year; not only do we have elite buyers with proven budget and business to place attending from all around the world, but we have a diverse group with a variety of products interests and this will increase the opportunity for our exhibitors to make connections at the event. And with our 100% mutually matched appointment system, we can ensure that all of our Hosted Buyers and exhibitors are only attending relevant, valuable appointments likely to result in business opportunities and ROI.”
Hosted Buyers have also indicated the regions in which they are most interested in placing business, with 98% of buyers looking to place business in the US and 81% interested in placing business internationally. Domestically buyers placed particular emphasis on wanting to meet exhibitors from the Western US (98%) and the Southeast (97%). Internationally buyers were most interested in Canada, Latin America, and Europe.
McAuley commented, “These preferences are really on trend with where the industry is right now. Rob Davidson, Managing Director of MICE Knowledge, predicted in his 2015 Trends Report that 2016 will see an increase across all meeting types in North America, so it’s not surprising that both our regional and international buyers are looking to place business in Canada and the US. Davidson also noted how Latin America’s close business and cultural ties to the US, which make it especially attractive for US-based meeting groups, have played a large role in the Latin American MICE industry’s growth, so we expect this to continue to be a region of interest among our Hosted Buyers.”
Some of the Hosted Buyers attending this year include Philips (Brazil), Rimac Seguros y reaseguros (Peru), Hurricane Action Sports (Canada), Montreal Event Planner (Canada), Lenovo (China), GECK’O Incentives & Events (Germany), Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (India), Fullteam Networks (Mexico), TUSExpo BV (Netherlands), Decast Group (Russian Federation), ABB INDUSTRIES (UAE), Ultima Media (UK), Smartfocus (UK), Freestyle Football Federation (UK), the American Association for Cancer Research (US), AT&T (US), Wells Fargo (US), Corning Inc. (US), The Geological Society of America (US), and Nature’s Way (US).
Veronica Carletto, Project Manager, Fourth Wall Events, who will attend as a Hosted Buyer commented, “My objective is to learn about new hotels and services that I can share with my organisation and offer our clients. I am interested in looking at the 5* luxury brands in Europe and Asia.”
Blair Monica, Marketing Event Project Manager, GM Financial, also a Hosted Buyer for 2016 commented, “We plan events all over the US and Canada. I am interested in looking at different locations that can hold larger groups, what’s new with technology, meeting design, what’s new with exhibit design and displays and how to elevate our meetings and events.”
Fred Williams, Conference Manager, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, also a Hosted Buyer for 2016 commented, “Face-to-face meetings are critical to understanding city and hotel updates as well as special offers. Cities, hotels, airlines, audiovisual, and exhibition companies are the types of exhibitors I wish to meet.”
Joost de Meyer, Chairman & CEO, First Incentive Travel, also a Hosted Buyer for 2016, commented, “I am the Chairman & CEO with First Incentive Travel. I lead a team of experienced project managers. We work all over the USA for incentive groups coming to the USA, Mexico and Caribbean from mainly Europe and the rest of the world. I am interested in hotels, DMC’s, CVB’s, cruise lines, etc.”
To hear what more Hosted Buyers have to say, please visit:http://www.ibtmamerica.com/Media/galleries/Testimonials/
For further information about exhibiting, please visit http://www.ibtmamerica.com
