At a press conference at EIBTM – Monday 1 December – Vanessa Cotton, Chair Reed Travel Exhibitions Meetings and Incentives Events announced further developments on the company´s newest event, AIBTM in Baltimore – tailor made specifically for the North American market. AIBTM joins the company´s international meetings portfolio of EIBTM in Barcelona, GIBTM in Abu Dhabi, CIBTM in Beijing and AIME in Melbourne.
AIBTM will provide meeting and event professionals in all sectors – association, corporate, government and third party – with quality interaction with over 300 North American and international exhibitors. It is set to attract 500 Hosted Buyers, of which 100 will come from outside America and around 2,500 trade visitors made up of largely North American based meeting planners with domestic, interstate business.
She outlined what sets AIBTM apart from other events for the industry in North America by saying: “Two key elements set us apart – our reputation in providing best professional education and our location in Baltimore.”
Expanding on the importance of education and knowledge, she said: “We aim to equip the US buyer and supplier community with the tools to create more effective meetings and events of their own. This will be achieved by the creation of a new, high impact America Meetings Week, initiated by Reed Travel Exhibitions and supported by a wide range of industry organisations including ASAE, PCMA, MPI, SITE and ICCA.
“This dedicated week aims to raise the profile of the meetings and events industry to the wider business market and political community across North America, focussing on the economic contribution which meetings and events make to the economy, the number of jobs supported and the positive benefits which effective meetings and events bring to business development and communication.”
America Meetings Week will comprise:
· A high profile conference designed for the North American community
· A series of industry events which in the past would normally have taken place elsewhere in North America at different times of year but will now run alongside AIBTM in Baltimore
· A CEO Summit bringing together the heads of the largest and most influential buyers and suppliers in the marketplace, including domestic and international hotel chains and airlines, to discuss future trends and issues
· An Awards programme and presentation ceremony to recognise the most innovative people and practices in the US meetings and events industry today
· Concurrent educational sessions, throughout each of the three days, designed specifically for decision makers from all industry sectors
· The launch of the findings of a major new research programme.
Explaining the importance of Baltimore as the host location for AIBTM Vanessa Cotton said: “Baltimore is a business focussed city – a choice in tune with the mood of the times. With its proximity and ease of access to the vast eastern seaboard meeting and events community, the city is able to attract an estimated 13,000 meeting buyers located in states within just three hours travelling time.
“States within the three hours include Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania, which means we are hitting key cities such as New York, Washington DC (the hub for associations) and Philadelphia, home to major agencies such as Maritz. Buyers will easily be able to come to AIBTM in a day in the knowledge that they can achieve their business objectives and easy, convenient, low cost travel means that those planners whose organisations will not allow them to accept hospitality will also be able to attend.”
Closing the press conference she concluded that: “We are confident that anyone in the meetings and events industry in North America will want to be in Baltimore for AIBTM and America Meetings Week, either as an advocate, an event organiser or a participant.”
