Inaugural IBTM Wired results reveal 3,200 meetings took place at hybrid event

Reed Exhibitions (RX) has announced the results of its inaugural IBTM Wired event, which took place online from 28 June – 1 July with the aim of uniting hosted buyers and suppliers for four days of meetings, networking and tailored education sessions.  Organisers confirmed that over 290 hosted buyers from 65 countries attended the online event, with a further 100 physical attendees in Singapore on day one for the SMF (Singapore MICE Forum) x IBTM Wired conference in partnership with SACEOS (Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers). Almost 3,200 one-to-one business meetings took place between hosted buyers and international destinations and suppliers, and organisers said 94% of meetings were attended. The meetings satisfaction score for the event was 4.6 out of 5. The 28 live and 39 on-demand education sessions were Events Industry Council (EIC) accredited, and there were almost 1,000 on-demand views of the Knowledge Programme during the course of the event and for two weeks afterwards. Exhibitor Heike Ströhmann, The Westin Paris – Vendôme, said: “The Westin Paris Vendome – Le Meridien Etoile decided to attend IBTM Wired as it is vital in this changing environment to show that we are active, open for business and have adapted to the new needs. The IBTM platform is flawless, and our agenda filled up in a heartbeat – we needed a team of three to cover all the meeting requests. We will definitely attend again.” Hosted buyer Marcus Lee, chairman, International China Investment Forum, said: “IBTM Wired is an excellent event where you are able to meet high quality industry suppliers from around the globe. I was able to discover new opportunities, talk to new destinations, hotels and venues to plan for our next events.” Michael Jones, event manager, IBTM Wired said: “Our first ever IBTM Wired brought the industry together to re-connect, learn new skills, and do valuable business in what has been an incredibly challenging period for our sector. We’re delighted with the results and the excellent feedback from participants.” Jones added: “I’d like to thank our exhibitors, buyers and partners SACEOS, as well as the Singapore Tourism Board and Marina Bay Sands who were instrumental in bringing IBTM Wired to fruition.”