CMW, in Melbourne for the anniversary show, sees buyers, exhibitors and visitors return to the city in good numbers for AIME 2023.
The Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) returned to Melbourne in style in February, with over 400 hosted buyers and approximately 3,000 visitors.
The show, organised by Talk2 Media & Events for Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB), also attracted 350 exhibitors to its 30-year celebratory edition and ran, 13-15 February, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC).
Organisers said 25 countries were represented at AIME 2023 and 12,000 pre-scheduled meetings took place. The 2023 show was 40% bigger than last year’s.
New event features included: The Accor Hosted Buyers Lounge, a ‘Tech’ area, and a Wellness Café. An enormous kangaroo and a special anniversary lanyard featuring First Nations’ artwork, were some of the ‘touches of Australia’ delegates were treated to.
Organisers held an opening press conference at THE LUME, Melbourne featuring The Hon. Steve Dimopoulos MP, Victoria’s minister for tourism, sport and major events; Julia Swanson, CEO, Melbourne Convention Bureau; Natalie O’Brien AM, CEO, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and Phillipa Harrison, managing director, Tourism Australia.
AIME’s Knowledge Programme included an address from Australian tennis star, Jelena Dokic, and saw a mix of industry business leaders and professionals as well as keynote speakers share their knowledge and experience.
The Day 1 Welcome Event was held at Marvel Stadium, co-hosted with MCB. State-of-the-art pearl theming celebrating 30 years was mirrored in a directional menu curated by Victorian producers, Delaware North.
Flying onto the show floor as one of this year’s main attractions was Australia’s first female jet fighter pilot who made an appearance on the Afterburner Top Gun stand.
Pilot ‘Em’ not only breaks the sound barrier, she also breaks down barriers in what was once a predominantly male domain – as the RAAF welcomes an inclusive and diverse policy. She shared some of the fighter pilot mindset and the simple methodology behind their success with visitors to the stand.
Afterburner also had two big prizes up for grabs – an authentic Top Gun bomber jacket and AUD$2,000 off an Afterburner team building event or keynote.
CEO of organiser Talk2 Media & Events, Matt Pearce told CMW post-show: “AIME was awesome! We have received strong and positive feedback from exhibitors and visitors alike. What is so pleasing is the number of meetings and conversations taking place. It was clear to us that business events are back and the Asia Pacific region is showing strong interest in embracing our sector once more.
“Our event director, Silke Calder and her team delivered a well considered and curated show. From the start of our education sessions on Monday, through the huge opening welcome party and onto the show floor for two days of meetings, AIME had a strong vibe. One that shouted that business events are back.
“Although it was too early for us to have a Chinese contingent at the show this year, the region was clearly buoyed by the prospect of China reopening and the impact that will have across all of us in the Asia Pacific.”
Pearce said his biggest challenge was, “How the hell do we beat it next year!”
The journey to a successful 2023 event has not always been smooth, as Pearce admits: “2020 was a watershed moment. We put in a new event director. Silke [Calder] came in and we had all these grand plans. Of course, 2021 didn’t happen due to Covid and 2022 was slightly muted because businesses weren’t open.
“But those plans are manifesting themselves now. We have been stopped in the aisles many times and complimented. In the past we have sometimes run the aisle, not walked it! We now have a solid foundation to grow again.”
Evidence of the higher level of buyers is the fact that over 100 buyers who wanted to be hosted were rejected because they did not meet the criteria. “An odd but quirky thing: you have to set the standard and live or die by that,” says Pearce.
“We can put all the fun parties on and make everything look pretty but unless the seller is meeting the right buyer, your show’s not working.”
He is a great advocate of the medium of the show. “Exhibitions accelerate the buy cycle,” says Pearce, and is proud that AIME 2023 delivered “the whole package”. “You have destinations, venues suppliers but you have to have the right audience for all of them,” he notes.
Another sign of growth was the activation area which last year had seven participants. This year there were 21.
Pearce also noted that Covid had meant there had been no Chinese delegation at AIME since 2019. “They now have a year to get comfortable with re-establishing themselves in the world for tourism,” he says, adding that the wider Southeast Asia region had been a bit slower out of the post-Covid blocks than elsewhere.
Pearce clearly feels part of a holistic meetings industry show ecosystem and says he is keen to develop and learn from the likes of IMEX, and to talk about new ideas.
Sustainability, such a key part of the industry discussion and, indeed, AIME 2023, he sees as a journey rather than a destination and points to one highlight there of many stands choosing to display photos on fabric which can be resused and doesn’t go to landfill.
The big thing to address is travel, Pearce reckons, and stresses that offsetting is more than planting a few trees. He says his team is now looking at a myriad of different things here, not least with a lot of travel involved for many visitors.
Australia’s Qantas said at the show it was the first airline in the world to announce that it would recognise and reward frequent flyers for taking sustainable actions on the ground as well as in the air. The Green tier will sit alongside existing flying tier to encourage and reward the airline’s 13 million frequent flyers for everything from offsetting their flights, to staying in eco-accredited hotels, purchasing sustainable wine and supporting environmental initiatives. Members who achieve Green tier status by completing at least five sustainable activities across six areas in their membership year, can choose to receive either 10,000 Qantas Points, 50 Status Credits or have three tonnes of carbon offsets purchased by Qantas on their behalf.
