Greater levels of confidence have also been noted this year among planners of international associations conferences, with evidence of increasing budgets and attendance levels. Cities in Europe and Asia are particularly successful at winning these events, although Australasia and the Middle East are increasingly asserting themselves as destinations for international association conferences.
The 2014 EIBTM Trends Watch Report will be presented by Rob Davidson of MICE Knowledge this year as it reflects the upbeat tone of confidence widely demonstrated this year by companies and organisations operating in the global meetings and events industry. It also is predicted to capture the widespread phenomenon of rising confidence levels for suppliers and buyers of services and facilities for business events.
Highlights of the report show that most of the key market segments in the corporate meetings sector – information and communications technology, automotive, pharmaceuticals and construction – have experienced growth in 2014, boosting the demand for corporate conferences, product launches, and training events. The developing world, in particular China and the Middle East, is where this growth has been most significantly witnessed. The incentive travel sector has also seen a resurgence in 2014, with convincing evidence of growth in demand, rising budgets and the use of a greater variety of destinations for the hosting of such events.
Greater levels of confidence have also been noted this year among planners of international associations conferences, with evidence of increasing budgets and attendance levels. Cities in Europe and Asia are particularly successful at winning these events, although Australasia and the Middle East are increasingly asserting themselves as destinations for international association conferences.
As demand has grown this year, so has the supply of facilities for meetings and events, with expansion, in many world regions, of the hotel stock and major new convention centres – for example Krakow in Poland and Nigeria’s first dedicated international convention centre, the Calabar International Convention Centre. This expansion in supply has been matched by the creation of a number of new convention bureaus from Hangzhou in China to Spain’s Costa Brava, with the aim of winning meetings and events for their destinations in an increasingly competitive market environment.
In terms of the outlook for 2015, modest levels of growth are forecast for the global economy as a whole, although that growth will be most significant in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. For the meetings and events industry, forecasters are practically unanimous in their predictions that 2015 will witness continuing expansion. Some even predict that in a number of world regions – the US and parts of Europe – we will see a return to a sellers’ market, as demand outstrips supply in some key city destinations.
But 2015 will not be without its risk factors, which may create as yet unforeseen challenges for the meetings and events industry – particularly on the international scale. These include: the risk of escalating conflicts in the Middle East and in Eastern Ukraine; the Ebola virus crisis further extending its grip; and the threat of a return to recession in the Euro zone.
Innovation, resilience and dynamism will be the meetings and events industry’s best response to meeting these challenges head-on and to making the most of the opportunities that lie ahead in 2015.
IBTM Portfolio rebranded ibtm events
Reed Travel Exhibitions has announced that it has undergone a re-brand of the IBTM portfolio which will now become “ibtm events – connections mean everything”. At the same time 6 of the current 8 events will also have a new brand image and logo identifying them by region (excluding AIME and ICOMEX). Notably, EIBTM is to become “ibtm world” in line with its status as a global industry event.
As the world’s leading provider of events for the meetings industry and with the recent acquisition of ICOMEX as well as the brand extension; a ‘taste of ibtm‘ at World Travel Market Latin America, the footprint now extends to 6 continents. The new logos will communicate each show proposition and the region that it serves, firmly establishing them in the market giving both individual status for that event whilst also retaining the ibtm brand equity.
“As our family of ibtm events evolves, we need to clearly establish each individual event proposition for the market that they serve. We have also introduced different event formats for a number of our events over the last two years, but the common denominator for them all is still the same defining principals, that they deliver top-level Hosted Buyers and connections which in turn create business opportunities. At the same time, EIBTM is the flagship show for the portfolio and must be defined as representative of the world,” commented Sallie Coventry Portfolio Director for ibtm events portfolio.
Together the events in the newly branded ibtm portfolio annually provide access to more than 5,000 suppliers from 100 countries, 19,000 event organisers and more than 110,000 pre-scheduled meetings take place.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
