IMEX Frankfurt, held May 19-21 at the Congress Center Messe Frankfurt, wrapped on a high note, in terms of exhibitor and buyer attendance as well as being a harbinger for a rapidly improving global economy and meetings and exhibitions industry.
“There’s a mood of optimism in the industry,” said IMEX Group Chairman Ray Bloom. “I think it’s been very obvious this year at this show, compared to previous years.”
Bloom said that feedback from both exhibitors and visitors was positive, with a record amount of business being done on the show floor.
IMEX reported that some 8,887 unique show participants, which includes hosted buyers, suppliers and exhibitors, participated, with more than 65,000 individual appointments taking place. More than 3,950 of the attendees were hosted buyers from 78 countries, according to IMEX.
More than half of these appointments were accompanied by an appointment profile or RFP, a feature launched at last year’s event, which increased the effectiveness of the appointments.
Bloom said that more than 30 percent of the hosted buyers were from outside of Europe—many new buyers came for the first time from countries such as China, India, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt and Israel—which represented the largest number of long-haul attendees ever to attend the show. This resulted in longer stays in the host city and thus the highest amount of participation on the last day of the show in the event’s history.
Major initiatives included the following:
◗ An Exclusively Corporate@IMEX event that featured 80 corporate buyers with a combined annual meetings and event spend of more than $270 million; Bloom said that a large presence by Cisco Systems accounted for the lion’s share of the buying power.
◗ An Association Day & Evening, attended by approximately 300 association executives from 39 countries, representing a major push by IMEX to increase its reach into the global association market.
◗ A Politicians Forum that was its largest ever, drawing 100 participants, including approximately 40 politicians and 60 meetings and exhibition industry leaders.
The healthy attendance of politicians points to the increased clout of the industry on the worldwide stage, according to Bloom.
