The Chairman of the Institute of Travel & Meetings today announced to members that it was planning to introduce a new tier of membership to allow the vast number of industry stakeholders based in the UK & Ireland to connect to the association and its activities.
The move to create ITM Connect was announced in a statement made this morning to members by Chairman, Jamie Hindhaugh, on behalf of the ITM Board. Additional changes include increased services to full members, soon to be called ITM Business members, and changes to its sponsor programme – to recognise them fully as industry supporters. In addition, it is proposed that ITM regions will be able to be chaired by Suppliers and Industry Practitioners for the first time and a membership charter will be introduced across all members.
Speaking about the announcement, Mr Hindhaugh said, “After a long period of assessment it is great to be announcing these plans to our members. We estimate there to be in excess of four thousand potential buyer members in the UK alone and our plans intend to engage them in this great association. But the changes go beyond that goal and also intend to create a more equal organisation where mutual trust, professionalism and practical information, tools and services are key.”
The association has also announced that all ITM Business members will receive complimentary membership of NBTA Europe for the next year. It also plans to provide members with intelligence reports and more regional events to increase the value of membership.
Talking about the changes, ITM’s CEO, Paul Tilstone added, “The last twenty years have seen the internet, media, exhibition and commercial event companies taking on some of the historical roles of an association and providing a level of competition, sometimes without cost to the users. We understand, from our members, that our strengths are that we are truly independent & buyer-led and that, as a not-for-profit organisation, people know we focus on doing the right thing. These changes will potentially attract huge numbers of professionals to engage with ITM so that everything we do has more impact on this great industry of ours.”
The association plans to announce full details during its 2011 Intelligence conference at Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire in April – www.itmconference.org.
