REPORT – IMEX 2006 – FRANKUFURT: With its highest ever visitor numbers and strongest hosted buyer programme yet, IMEX 2006 ended on a four year high. IMEX Chairman, Ray Bloom, explained to a…
REPORT – IMEX 2006 – FRANKUFURT: With its highest ever visitor numbers and strongest hosted buyer programme yet, IMEX 2006 ended on a four year high. IMEX Chairman, Ray Bloom, explained to a closing ceremony audience that he was delighted that IMEX has developed a genuine reputation for industry innovation and for a level of detailed and attentive organisation that is widely appreciated by visitors and exhibitors alike.
He announced total visitor numbers for 2006 of 7,600 – of which over 3,400 were hosted buyers from 57 countries in total. This compares to 7,130 visitors in 2005 and exceeds this year’s forecast of 7,500.
Talking about the IMEX Hosted Buyer programme, Bloom announced that it would be further expanded and developed in 2007 with an increased concentration on long-haul buyers. This year buyers travelled from markets as diverse as Iceland, Serbia, Libya, Honduras and the UAE with increased numbers from South Africa, India and Russia noted in particular.
New partnerships with both Star Alliance and Skyteam in 2006 have added more than 20 global airlines to the programme. These relationships will be built upon in the coming months. As official airline partner, Lufthansa also continues to play a key role. IMEX’s ability to deliver high quality buyers from diverse world markets, including a strong bond with the US, has been a talking point amongst exhibitors this year with many also commenting on the increased number of Asian, Russian and Eastern European buyers at IMEX. Bloom assured his audience this commitment to emerging markets would continue to be a strong focus for the future.
He said, “After four years, it is clear that our exhibitors now see IMEX as the true gateway into the world market. Be they established destinations who’ve been here since year one, or new entrants to the industry, they all view IMEX as a strong platform from which to launch new campaigns, new services or new products.”
He also shared some of the positive feedback he had received from many of the show’s 3,300 exhibiting companies. Their remarks reflected a strong appreciation of the lively atmosphere at IMEX, which they believe makes networking and doing business both easy and comfortable. Exhibitors have also remarked on what an excellent marketing tool the IMEX website has become and that, used to its full potential, it produces plenty of good appointments and strong interest from buyers at the show who arrive at Messe Frankfurt with specific projects in mind.
Talking about the successes of 2006, Bloom explained that this year’s Politicians’ Forum had been a great success. The most comprehensive programme to date coupled with a round-table debate format plus individual country presentations on stands had captured everyone’s imagination, he said. Added to this, the scope of IMEX’s events programme had grown considerably with many more educational forums, German and English-language seminars, exhibitor events and press events than in previous years.
Forward-thinking
IMEX’s reputation for innovation was further reinforced this year with the introduction of the new ‘Mobile Exhibition Assistant – IMEX On Your Phone’. Take up of this new service has been extremely good with widespread, positive feedback about its time management benefits and simplicity. Bloom explained that this excellent innovation plus the online appointments system ensured that IMEX does everything possible to support efficient time management at the show and this was widely appreciated by both visitors and exhibitors. Both will be back ‘by popular demand’ next year, he promised.
Looking ahead, Bloom announced a new research partnership with ICCA which will measure and track suppliers’ green practices across the industry. The study will start later in the year and will strengthen IMEX’s growing reputation for championing better environmental management within the industry. He also announced that all annual travel by the entire IMEX staff team would also be carbon-offset in the future – a further demonstration that IMEX is genuinely committed to environmental values.
The Future Leaders Forum, in partnership with MPI, which has already seen more than 800 students pass through its programme since launch, will also be expanded. A new Forum will take place in Warsaw, Poland, in August with the support of the Warsaw Convention Bureau. Bloom explained that it is IMEX and MPI’s long-term ambition to make the Future Leaders a truly global programme. Both organisations have also agreed to partner with ICCA in running Future Leader Forums at their educational events especially for students in developing countries in 2007.
Summing up, IMEX Chairman, Ray Bloom, said, “Germany is our home. We have tremendous partners in the German Convention Bureau and in the management team here at Messe Frankfurt who have played a critical part in our success so far. I am extremely pleased to announce the dates for IMEX over the next five years: 17th – 19th April 2007, 22nd – 24th April 2008, 26th – 28th May 2009, 25th – 27th May 2010 and 24th – 26th May 2011. Our message is clear: IMEX has vision, it has heart, it has imagination and, above all, it has a dedication to generating business that, I believe, is unparalleled across the industry.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
