New digital enhancements will allow exhibitors and visitors to reap the benefits of the region’s leading event dedicated to the meetings, incentive, events and business travel industry
Online registration for GIBTM, the Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition, is now open, allowing early-bird visitors to register in advance and take advantage of a raft of benefits in the build-up to the March event.
Lloyd Kenyon, GIBTM Exhibition Manager, was keen to stress the importance of the event: “GIBTM puts visitors in touch with 300 international and regional suppliers for three days of business, education and networking. If you are an international meeting planner, corporate or incentive travel buyer, event organiser or are involved in the decision making process for regular meetings, events, conferences or incentive travel, then GIBTM is a must attend event.
Kenyon continues: “Registering to attend GIBTM before it begins provides visitors with a host of benefits: free entrance to the exhibition, up to date exhibitor information and priority access to the show, which means no queuing. They can also access breaking news on the seminar and educational content of the show as well as receive regular newsletters. Online registration is free and takes just a few minutes.”
Reed Travel Exhibitions has invested heavily in the show’s online activity for 2011, introducing Twitter and Linked-In accounts, in addition to its regular website. The all-year-round web presence allows visitors, exhibitors and the media to interact with one another prior, during and after the event, which is already shaping up to be the most important show in its 5 year history.
Plans are also underway to launch an online community closed-user-group for GIBTM visitors, called ‘Connect@’. Through it they will be able to see who else is attending, upload their picture and profile, and network with other visitors before the show.
“GIBTM is an ideal venue for industry players to meet and conduct business. Visitors will find inspiration, solutions and new ideas, leaving with an even greater knowledge of the MICE sector and how to successfully formulate buying decisions for their next events. Our online portal starts that process even before the actual event by linking potential visitors and exhibitors. It allows them to watch videos uploaded by exhibitors, search for exhibitors by their product categories or by country, contact them to arrange meetings in advance, and read their press releases. This increases better business understanding and fosters improved interaction prior to and at GIBTM, therefore increasing success and productivity of the event throughout the year,” Kenyon explains.
Other initiatives will take centre stage at the show itself, including a repeat of last year’s successful education programme featuring top industry speakers and experts, reaffirming GIBTM’s continued commitment to be the driving force behind the development of the professional meetings (MICE) industry across the region.
GIBTM is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, and Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, ADNEC, Etihad and The Vision are all exclusive partners for GIBTM 2011. Meetme, published by NPI, is a global media partner and publisher of the Official Show Daily publication.
More information on exhibitors, networking opportunities and the seminars being given can be found on the GIBTM website at www.gibtm.com whilst visitors can register online at www.gibtm.com/register.
