A strong turnout and enthusiastically received presentations marked the launch of the first Americas Meetings & Events Exhibition (AIBTM), part of the Reed Travel Exhibitions Meetings and Events Portfolio, held at the Baltimore Convention Center June 21-23.
"Strategically we are delighted with the feedback from this first event," said Steve Knight, AIBTM project director. "We achieved a ratio in excess of 1:1, hosted buyer to supplier; the first education day was standing-room only; and walking down the aisles you could see business being achieved, which is also testament to the fact that we already have 60 contracts signed representing over one-third of the show for 2012."
The official tallies included 789 exhibitors from 52 countries, approximately 740 registered hosted buyers, mostly from North America, and 806 registered trade buyers in attendance. There were some 11,200 pre-scheduled appointments between U.S. and international hosted buyers and suppliers.
The conference kicked off with an education day hosted by AIBTM that was aimed at providing topics of interest to both buyers and suppliers, including several technology-based sessions such as "Behind the Scenes of a Successful Event—7 Ways Technology Can Boost Your Success" and "Exploring the Benefits of Virtual Events".
"The decision to provide education for exhibitors as well as meeting planners was clearly the right one" said Erica Keogan, associations and education manager for AIBTM. "The response from the industry has confirmed that the subjects, speakers, sessions and content were right on target and the format will certainly be replicated for 2012."
One of the most popular sessions held during the show was "Changing Times, Emerging Trends," led by two executives from BCD Meetings & Incentives, Mary MacGregor, vice president of business development, Americas, and Matthew Wall, vice president, meetings and incentives.
Some trends mentioned during the session included a resurgence of interest in sustainable meetings and green awareness, an increase in hybrid meetings and a trend toward assertive contract negotiations. The presenters also provided several tips for planners, such as factoring in a 10 percent to 15 percent increase in air costs as part of overall budgets for next year and offering creative technology options as value-adds with proposals.
AIBTM was part of America Meetings Week and included a number of co-located events, such as the CIC Hall of Leaders Gala, PCMA Education Conference, the launch of MPI Value of Meetings research, several networking functions and a U2 concert. The PCMA Education Conference drew more than 600 total registrants.
During one of the education sessions, Bill Voegeli of Association Insights conducted a presentation about the launch of the AIBTM & MPI Business Value of Meetings (BVOM) Research. MPI is working on a five-part toolkit regarding the ROI of measuring BVOM. The study can be found online at www.mpiweb.org/bvom.
The convention, which will be held in Baltimore for at least the next two years, was also a boost to the city, according to Tom Noonan, CEO of Visit Baltimore.
"The reason for us hosting AIBTM was because Reed wanted to be in America and we're in the middle of meeting planner land up and down the East Coast," Noonan said. "That's great, but for us this is a perception game-changer. For a lot of customers from around the world, this may be their first time here.
"Even some domestic customers in the Chicago market or West Coast market haven't been here in five or 10 years or maybe ever," he continued. "And to walk in and see this city in June, with some of our best weather and see what we've done here at the convention center, the downtown, the hotels and the tourism community, it's a real game-changer for us."
