IBTM Arabia, formerly known as the Gulf Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM), celebrated its 10th anniversary in Abu Dhabi last week, organizer Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) reported yesterday.
The meeting, which took place Feb. 9-11 at Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, attracted buyers and sellers from more than 40 countries, who participated in approximately 3,000 one-on-one appointments as part of the show's new "meeting pod" format, whereby exhibitors are matched with meeting planners for hosted-buyer appointments inside private meeting booths rented to exhibitors for a flat fee.
"Despite a late start, the rapid expansion of infrastructure, commerce, and tourism in the UAE has outpaced every other destination in the world. As a result, this year we have had a lot of new exhibitors wanting to be part of our unique meeting pod event. We then matched each supplier's business objectives with the right professional meeting planner resulting in a broad spectrum of hosted buyers from every sector of the industry," explained IBTM Arabia Exhibition Manager Shinu Pillai.
This year's show began with a "Discovery Day" during which the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau led a tour of the destination and its meetings product. During the subsequent two days of business meetings, RTE provided 100 percent new hosted buyers and, as a result, saw an increase in the number of exhibitors attending.
"IBTM Arabia really does provide the perfect setting for business connections," Pillai continued. "From Discovery Day providing an icebreaker to meet other attendees whilst exploring Abu Dhabi together, to two days of back-to-back business meetings to further those connections and create new ones, to the numerous networking events and the incredible hospitality of the five-star Jumeirah at Etihad Towers."
The next edition of IBTM Arabia will take place in Abu Dhabi Feb. 7-9, 2017.
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