Meetings Show UK 2013 reveals exhibitor list

EUROPE – The Meetings Show UK has unveiled its exhibitor list, which includes destinations such as London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Ireland, Thailand and New York.
 
The exhibitor list demonstrates a wide spread of support for the new show, organised by Centaur, taking place 9-11 July 2013 at London Olympia.
 
Major UK destinations committed include: London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff, Newcastle and Gateshead, Coventry and Warwickshire and Brighton. International destinations include Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Reykjavik, Istanbul, New York, Milan, Holland, Belgium, Austria, Cyprus, Malta, Slovenia, Lithuania, Mexico, Thailand and Malaysia. In addition, more many more destinations will be represented through more than 100 DMCs including Destinations Unlimited, Moulden Marketing, Activ’Travel, 4 Corner Events, HL Adventure and Mags Worldwide.
 
Major Hotel chains present will include: Marriott Hotels, Guoman Thistle, H10 Hotels, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, PumaHotels, Expo Hotels and Resorts and Zacchera Hotels. Individual properties in attendance include The Lensbury, MIC Hotel & Conference Centre as well as hotels from the Accor group, Jury’s Inn and Vine Tree Connections’ group of luxury properties
 
The show is supported by leading venues such asBarbican, Earls Court and Olympia, The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Harrogate International Centre, ACC Liverpool, Manchester Central, Imago, Hever Castle, Blenheim Palace, Hedsor House, ILEC Conference Centre and the RicohArena. Venue groups include Unique Venues of London, Merlin Entertainment and CCT Venues.
 
A dedicated academic pavilion includes King’s College, Robinson College, University of Manchester and Royal Holloway University, who will also be joined by other academic venues such as Warwick Conferences.
 
The technology sector is represented by Cvent, RefTech, Power Vote, IML Worldwide and PSAV.
 
Specialist suppliers include chooseyourvenue.com, ARC International and Target Response.
 
The Meetings Show UK, Event Director, Steve Knight says: “The initial response and speed of confirmations has exceeded our expectations. To have such a high profile and comprehensive list this far from the show clearly demonstrates the need for a hosted buyer led, meetings focused event for our industry.  The response from potential exhibitors has been unanimously positive, it is clear we will be showcasing the most diverse range of exhibitors at any UK show.”
 
The event is expected to attract more than 4,000 visitors including 1,500 plus hosted buyers from corporates, agencies and associations.
 
Knight continues: “Despite our success to date, this is just the beginning there is much more to come. We are currently in conversations with a host of other exhibitors and expect to be able to confirm representatives from Spain, Canada, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Portugal, Scotland and a variety of long haul destinations in the near future.”
 
Sarah Stewart, Chief Executive at destination management and marketing organisation NewcastleGateshead Initiative said: “Having the opportunity to talk to national and international event organisers is vital to ensuring our Convention Bureau captures and converts all opportunities in this fast moving market.  It was immediately clear that The Meetings Show UK would be a key event for us, targeting influential buyers in an innovative way through their enhanced hosted buyer programme. NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau both attend and deliver a range of annual events and exhibitions that allow us to talk directly to organisers interested in bringing their next big event to the destination, attending The Meetings Show UK in 2013 forms an integral part of this activity.”
 
Mexico Tourism Board, Director of Association Meetings – Europe, Virginia Arana says: “The Mexico Tourism Board is significantly expanding its operations in Europe, with a specialised meetings focused office now operating in Brussels. To succeed in this market it is vital we promote our brand, cultural offering and high quality meetings infrastructure on a targeted basis in each of our key markets. To succeed in Europe we need to be here in Europe.  The Meetings Show UK, which is far more than just a trade show, gives us the ideal platform to speak to the UK market and raise our awareness. It will bring together a host of global experts in a dynamic and open environment and we look forward to thesignificant impact it will have on our business.”
 
Steven Small, Head of Business Tourism, Visit Manchester says: “We’re really excited to be involved with a major new event like this which offers a fantastic platform for Visit Manchester and our partners to work together and showcase what our city has to offer.”
 
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