IBTM World meets its Virtual challenge

The first ever IBTM World Virtual drew to a close with organiser Reed Travel Exhibition reporting nearly 13,000 business meetings having taken place and almost 8,300 meetings and events professionals attending over the course of the three-day event, which this year took place fully online. Of the hosted buyers that attended, 30% were new to the IBTM portfolio. The 700 exhibitors attending carried out an average 19 meetings with hosted buyers over the course of the show. The organisers reported a 92% attendance rate for the pre-scheduled meetings. Commenting on the experience at IBTM World Virtual 2020, Barbara Jamison, tourism sector head, London & Partners said: “The technology has been easy to use and enabled our team looking after our markets in Asia Pacific, EMEA and North and South America to engage with clients across various time zones.” Hosted Buyer Emmanuelle Wurffel from ETSI, said: “I enjoyed this very special IBTM on-line session. I made 38 appointments in three days with hotels, conference centres and convention bureaus. The platform offered during IBTM World Virtual was excellent and easy to use. Sharing the screen to display my slides was easy and quick.” IBTM World Virtual featured 87 content sessions, four keynotes and 95 speakers who covered a variety of topics designed to help meetings professionals look towards a brighter future as the industry rebuilds post pandemic. Over 1,400 hours of live and on-demand content was viewed over the course of the show, and content will be available to view for two weeks after the event for those who registered to attend. Commenting at the close of IBTM World Virtual 2020, David Thompson, event director, said: “This year has been a huge challenge for the meetings and events industry, so it’s been fantastic to come together with IBTM World Virtual, to share our experiences of the year, our learnings, make valuable connections, hear from industry experts and of course, continue to do business. We’re delighted with the feedback from the buyers and exhibitors… and I’m incredibly proud of the entire IBTM World Virtual team for producing what has been an outstanding event.” IBTM World 2021 is scheduled to take place at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, 30 November – 2 December 2021.