Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) has appointed Event Planners Australia as it education program manager for AIME 2009, 17th AsiaPacific Incentives & Meetings Expo, in Melbourne on 17 & 18 February. Event Planners Australia is a national meeting and event management company that works throughout Australia and the Asia Pacific region.

“The new and more extensive Master Class program was well attended and very successful this year and we want to develop this program even further in 2009,” said Acting Event Director, Elizabeth Sarian.

“For AIME 2009 we are raising the bar again, with an exciting new Master Class program that includes a special Master Class for Hosted Buyers. Event Planners Australia will also manage the popular Business Events Forum which will be held on the first morning prior to the exhibition opening. The Forum looks at key industry issues for the region and attracts a panel of global industry specialists each year.

With the additional resources of Event Planners Australia, one of Australia’s most experienced and creative industry event planners, we will be able to deliver an even stronger educational program than ever before,” she said.

Event Planners Australia Chairman, Ray Shaw, said his company had made a strong commitment to AIME and was delighted to have the opportunity to develop an exciting and relevant program that will further enhance AIME as the leading event in the region.

“Over the past 29 years our team has worked throughout Australia and the Asia Pacific designing and delivering more than 1,000 meetings and events. We look forward to providing a leading edge educational program for AIME 2009, with an enviable line up of speakers covering the most critical of industry topics,” Mr Shaw said.

Five AIME Master Classes will be held each day of the event, with an additional, special Master Class for Hosted Buyers held before the exhibition opens on Wednesday 18 February.

“Our visitor research shows that 41% or respondents attended AIME 2008 to learn about industry trends, so the Master Classes and the Business Events Forum are a really important part of the event,” Ms Sarian said.

AIME is organised by Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) on behalf of the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau. RTE organise 15 events worldwide, including World Travel Market, EIBTM, GIBTM, ICCA Exhibition, in association with the ICCA Congress and China Incentive & Business Travel Mart (CIBTM).