With just over a month to go now to go until IBTM China in Beijing from 27-29 August, we ask a selection of attendees what they are most looking forward to about the event and pick out some of this year’s must-see event highlights.
What are you most looking forward to about this year’s event?
“As we have expanded our team in the region over the past year, it makes perfect sense for us to boost our presence through marketing and, to this end, IBTM China is a top priority. We have exhibited at IBTM World in Barcelona for several years and have found it to be a melting-pot of new ideas and emerging technologies, as well as an excellent opportunity to meet new partners and potential customers. With so many international conferences and meetings taking place across the country, China represents a vast – and growing – opportunity for Interprefy.”
Richard Roocroft, General Manager, APAC at Interprefy
“Las Vegas has been a premier destination for diverse options and has something customized for every taste. China is one of Las Vegas’s fastest-growing international markets, and we are continuing tremendous efforts to draw visitation from China. Las Vegas is always evolving. The fast-changing entertainment, sports, culinary, outdoor adventure and shopping are bound to bring new surprises to Chinese travellers.”
Carol Zhou, Trade Manager, China – Beijing
“China, the world’s second largest economy where the meetings and events industry is booming, is an important business destination for GL events – a world-class provider of integrated solutions and services in events operating for clients from all over the world. GL events Venues manages a brand-new convention centre in Guangzhou to open in May 2020 and a new exhibition and convention centre in Aichi-Nagoya in Japan opening on 30th August 2019. In addition, we have established a Global Sales Office in Shanghai with the aim of being closer to local clients from their choice of destinations. IBTM China is therefore a great occasion to connect to MICE decision makers from China and the Asia Pacific region.”
Natalia Agrel, Head of International Marketing of GL events Venues
“IBTM China is growing year-on-year, and we’re looking forward to welcoming a larger pool of quality Hosted Buyers and Exhibitors to the show this year. We’ve introduced some fantastic new features this year too, including the Tech Zone, APAC Business Travel Digital Innovation Summit as well as expanding our Knowledge Programme to almost double the number of sessions. Everyone has worked incredibly hard to bring this event to fruition, and we are all really excited to see the results of our hard work and enjoy the show!”
Nicole Ci, Event Manger, IBTM China
Here are our top 3 tips to help you get the most out of IBTM China:
- Learn and discover
This year at IBTM China we’ve doubled the number of speaker sessions compared to last year’s event, so there really is something for everyone. Check out the Knowledge Programme timetable online and via the app which details all 22 sessions. Themes range from the status of the domestic MICE market from an aviation perspective to creating ‘must visit’ destinations and the importance of effective communication in crisis management. Director of ICCA Asia Pacific, Noor Ahmad Hamid, will be on hand to share his insights into the regional market, and American Express will present their Asia Pacific Destination Report: Perceptions of the Top 5 Cities for Meetings.
Kevin Jackson’s talk titled ‘Growing your business: work less, win more’, is one definitely not to be missed. An influential thought-leader, disruptor and marketer, Kevin will present a session designed to shake things up a bit and get us all thinking. Director of Ideas and Innovation at The Experience is the Marketing, his pioneering methods focus on driving engagement, participation and action and ensuring that every communications solution involves a memorable and meaningful brand experience.
As ever, we want to provide you with valuable insight and information that will be of tangible use to you back in the ‘real world’ of your businesses. So, this year we’ve introduced a special a day-long summit as part of the Knowledge Programme. The Business Digital Travel Summit will bring together around 100 leaders, cost control experts, travel managers, financial directors and purchasing managers for a series of in-depth sessions on how technological innovation is changing the face of travel management – especially pertinent to the Chinese MICE market.
- Get tech-ready
Completely new at this year’s show is our Technology Zone in partnership with DAHLIA+ Agency. Here you can visit a tech bar run by the professionals at DAHLIA+ Agency for answers to all of your tech-based questions about professional branding, social media usage, digital marketing and more. Discover the latest products and ideas on the tech stage, and Hosted Buyers can join guided event tech tours to help them plan and execute outstanding events and establish strong business modules.
- Make connections
During your time at IBTM China you will have a packed diary of one-to-one pre-scheduled business meetings. This year over 300 elite Hosted Buyers will be attending, as well as almost 380 top quality exhibitors. Buyers and exhibitors will be mutually-matched using our bespoke ‘matchmaking’ software to ensure that everyone meets with the right people for their business needs.
We listened to what you told us about the kinds of buyers you want to meet, and as a result we have increased the number of international Hosted Buyers this year to 20%. The remainder are from the Asia Pacific region – including second and third tier mainland China cities. In terms of buyer make-up, 60% will be agency buyers; 30% will be corporate buyers and 10% from associations.
Around 380 exhibitors are expected to attend the event this year, including 23% more international exhibitors compared to 2018 (making up 55 percent of the total), 41% of which are first-time attending organisations.
As well as making the most of your one-to-one meetings, don’t miss the show Happy Hour on day one of the event from 16:20-17:00 in Exhibition Hall E1-E2. It’s open to all and is a great way to wind down after a busy and productive day!
We hope you have an enjoyable and productive show, and we look forward to seeing you all there. For more information, please see https://www.ibtmchina.com/
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For all media enquiries, additional comment and request for interview please contact
Becca Krug, Nancy Cremore, Evie Kennedy or Andra Miclaus at davies tanner:
Tel: +44 (0)1892 619100