IBTM World opened for a 20th anniversary edition in Fira Barcelona, with event director Claudia Hall cutting the ribbon on the show floor to an edition she was expecting to see a total of 12,000 attendees come through the doors, 19-21 November. Hall told CMW that this year would see a 23% rise in buyers at the show and a total of 2,550 exhibitors from 120 countries.
“There will also be more destinations and hotels attending the show compared to the 2023 edition,” she said. She gave Gothenburg and Birmingham as examples of city destinations striking out with their own stands this year, while she added that hotels missing out on oversubscribed national stands were able to gather in a special hotel pavilion this year for mid-size brands.
Hall explained her strategy of reaching out to increase participation from target groups, one being event marketers for whom the show’s Exception Experiences feature had been specially created. And Amazon and TikTok event directors were among an elite of big corporate name event directors in the show’s workshops.
Hall also reported strong engagement at the Advocacy Forum which had run in Barcelona on 18 November, the day before the show. Seventeen ministers from around the world had attended that, she said.
Hall added that an improved tool had made possible 74,000 pre-scheduled meetings (versus 55,000 in 2023), with 20% more mutual matches than last year As well as a push to bring in more new generation eventprofs to the show, around 6,000 trade visitors were expected, Hall noted.
The international credentials of IBTM World 2024 were strengthened by Hall’s statistic that 10% of visitors would this year come from the United States. And there seems no sign that organisers RX are getting bored with Barcelona, Hall telling CMW that the show was happy to stay in the Catalan capital under the present contract (to 2025) and beyond.
