In 1970 Louis Rukeyser started the popular Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) series Wall Street Week, produced by Maryland Public Television, a PBS member station, at its facilities in Owings Mills, Maryland. The show ran for 32 years, reaching its ratings peak in the mid-1980s. Rukeyser took pride in creating the first television show which focused on Wall Street, using a combination of erudition, plainspokenness, and panache to make the arcane workings of the stock market and the economy better known to the public. In 1987, Wall Street Week was parodied in an episode of Saturday Night Live.

By the 1990s, Wall Street Week faced increasing competition from rivals like CNBC. In 2002, network executives wanted to replace him with a younger host to help boost ratings. MPT executives offered him a five-minute segment on a newly retooled version of the show; Rukeyser declined. In his final episode, which was broadcast live, he deplored the decision of Maryland Public Television’s management and urged viewers to write their PBS stations and clamor for the new financial program he would soon create. Maryland Public Television fired him immediately after the broadcast. After Rukeyser’s departure, the series was renamed Wall Street Week with Fortune and co-hosted by the editorial director of Fortune magazine, Geoffrey Colvin, along with Karen Gibbs, a former senior business correspondent on the Fox News Channel. But without Rukeyser, the show’s ratings fell and Maryland Public Television cancelled the show in June 2005.

INCON Partner companies operate across 170 destinations with a staff of over 3,500 employees. Today we celebrate our global footprint and diverse people with a video full of inspirational and funny quotes from our teams. “The human voice is the most perfect instrument of all and this is the reason why as INCON we wanted to give voice and to share the experiences of our partners, this is the meeting industry, a unique group of industry professionals and a platform to showcase the impact of our industry, the more we organise events the more we can be the key drivers of the sector’s development and an important generator of income, employment end investment.” says Patrizia Buongiorno, INCON Co Chair and VP of AIM Group International.

New research from Oxford Economics affirms that face-to-face business meetings across 180 countries contributed $1.5 trillion of GDP in 2017 – more than the economies of Australia, Spain, Mexico, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. The research also shows that meetings support 25.9 million jobs worldwide.

“GMID provides a platform for us to come together with leaders in business, government and the media to demonstrate the significant impact our industry provides,” said Julie Coker Graham, president and CEO of Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau and co-chair of Meetings Mean Business Coalition

(MMBC). “The participation of organizations like INCON PCO is critical to GMID’s success and its continued growth in cities around the world.”

Resources

Participate in the digital conversation by following
@MeetingsMeanBiz on Twitter and using #GMID19.
For more information, visit www.MeetingsMeanBusiness.com.

Duncan’s session leads the ‘innovation, technology and creativity stream’ of the Knowledge Programme and will kick-off the schedule on Day 2. Titled ‘Think Different the Disney Way’, Duncan will draw on his 25-year career with The Walt Disney Company, and his experience leading a team of creative ideation consultants, to show how leveraging creative thinking can generate far reaching and unexpected business results.

Duncan was part of the team that led the delivery of EuroDisney and Disney cruises and held several roles in the company before being appointed Vice President of Innovation and Creativity. Duncan is now an independent Innovation Consultant, working with companies such as Coca Cola, Ford and Johnson & Johnson.

The full programme of 63 sessions that form this year’s Knowledge Programme cover seven topical content themes all aimed at inspiring and educating on the latest industry issues and hot topics so that delegates leave motivated to apply learnings to their own exciting events. As well as innovation, technology and creativity, content falls under the following streams; industry trends; engagement and experiences; safety and security; sustainability and CSR; professional development, recruitment and wellbeing; and business development and strategy.

Shane Hannam, Portfolio Director, IBTM, comments: “We’re delighted to announce our first keynote speaker for IBTM World 2018. We look to inspire people with fresh-thinking from outside of the industry, and Duncan really epitomises this. He will give real life examples from his time at Disney, including sharing a toolkit to inspire and different way of thinking to drive change in the culture of a business – something that will be of direct benefit to our customers.”

IBTM World’s 2018 edition is set to be another unmissable event, with new exhibitors including Tourism New Zealand; Plus DMC Group, Standard International Management hotel group and creative technology company Codemodeon, which develops fun experiences by utilising breakthrough technology in virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. Returning brands include Hyatt Hotel Group, Hilton, Kempinski Hotels, Germany Convention Bureau, Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau, Slovenia Meetings, Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau, VisitScotland and partners, Barcelona Convention Bureau, amongst many others.

Shane continued: “We’ve got a really exciting programme lined up for IBTM World this year. The event is centred around the theme of technology and how it can enhance every aspect of producing great events – from enabling creativity to analysing and understanding industry trends to helping us to create better, more useful connections. We’re looking forward to announcing more updates in due course.”

IBTM’s flagship show at Fira Gran Via Barcelona, IBTM World 2017 saw almost 3,000 exhibiting companies from over 150 countries joined by 3,463 buyers and thousands of visitors for a packed schedule of meetings, networking and educational sessions. Over 74,000 pre-scheduled meetings were arranged over the three days.

For all media enquiries, additional comment and request for interview please contact
Becca Krug, Nancy Cremore, Evie Kennedy or Andra Miclaus at davies tanner:
Tel: +44 (0)1892 619100
ibtmPR@DaviesTanner.com

About IBTM
IBTM, part of Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) is the world’s leading showcase for the meetings and events industry (also known as MICE) with a portfolio of 5 global and regional events providing business solutions on 5 continents. They include IBTM World, IBTM Arabia, IBTM Africa, IBTM Americas, IBTM China.
www.ibtmevents.com

About Reed Travel Exhibitions
Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) is the world’s leading travel and tourism events organiser, with a wide-ranging portfolio of 22 international events in 13 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa. Its market-leading, business-to-business events cover all elements of travel and tourism, including leisure travel, luxury travel, meetings, events, incentives and business travel, as well as golf travel.
www.reedtravelexhibitions.com

“The numbers are in, social media was buzzing and the emails keep coming – the IAPCO Annual Meeting in Tokyo was an all around success. This was in large due to the outstanding organization by our Japanese friends, who took care of every detail and truly captured the “IAPCO spirit”‘ says Mathias Posch, President of IAPCO.Based on participant feedback the meeting scored second highest of all time, narrowly missing the top spot by a mere fraction of a percent.

The successful collaboration between IAPCO and the host, Congress Corporation, in co-operation with other IAPCO members, JCS and JTB, all of whom worked hard to bring the vision for the meeting to life. JNTO and various cities throughout Japan provided valuable support and offered popular fam. trips to various cities, pre and post conference.

The Tokyo Annual Meeting programme was packed full of inspirational keynotes, engaging teamwork exercises, an excellent panel discussion entitled “Lost in Translation” focusing on the cultural nuances that will make all the difference to international clients/PCOs when bringing meetings to Japan alongside a spectacular cultural social programme which allowed for plenty of networking.

IAPCO brand awareness and membership growth in Asia was a key focus of the strategic plan. Holding the Annual Meeting in Tokyo and the excellent relationships this has created has been a big contributing factor to meeting these goals. Jan Tonkin, Immediate Past President of IAPCO said “Looking back on my two years as President I am particularly proud of the increased reach IAPCO has achieved in Asia Pacific. It is an incredibly diverse region where the meetings industry continues to grow in strength rapidly. We have welcomed new members from the region, raised our profile at the key industry trade shows and have held educational seminars in Kuala Lumpur, Suzhou and Taipei with more taking place in both Suzhou and Taipei in April.”

Compared to last year, Denmark made progress in all but one dimension. Denmark made outstanding progress in the use of digital technologies by enterprises and citizens, leading the EU and the world rankings.

“Denmark is one of the most creative and innovative countries in Europe and has fostered global success companies such as Skype, Unity, Trustpilot, Zendesk, Momondo, JustEat and Vivino. Denmark is pushing a progressive digitisation agenda in the public sector and making data accessible for companies, which makes Greater Copenhagen a leading hotspot for innovative tech startups and smart city solutions”, says Claus Lønborg, CEO, Copenhagen Capacity.

Also, it is the sixth time in a row when Denmark takes the top spot among the European countries in Ease of Doing Business Index. Worldwide, Denmark ranks number three, outperforming its Nordic fellow countries; Norway (no. 6), Sweden (no. 9) and Finland (no. 13).

The World Bank ranks Denmark as number one in Europe and number three in the world in the just released 2017 Ease of Doing Business Index, ranking 190 nations worldwide.

“The World Bank ranking confirms that Denmark offers one of the world’s most dynamic and attractive business environments. Greater Copenhagen offers innovative companies and industry clusters, a highly skilled workforce, very competitive taxes and business costs, and a famously flexible labour market”, says Claus Lønborg, CEO, Copenhagen Capacity who assists foreign investors, businesses and talent in setting up and growing their business in Greater Copenhagen.

Easy trading across borders and flexible labour market regulation
Denmark scores top on the Trading Across Borders indicator, ranking time and cost to export and import. The country also performs very well on Dealing with Construction Permits (no. 6), Paying Taxes including ease of administrative burdens (no. 7), Resolving Insolvency (no. 8) and Registering Property (no. 12). Denmark’s flexible labour market regulation with a non-regulated approach to fixed-term contracts and no restrictions on overtime work.

Europe’s 10 easiest countries for business:
Denmark (no. 3 globally)
Norway (no. 6 globally)
United Kingdom (no. 7 globally)
Sweden (no. 9 globally)
Macedonia (no. 10 globally)
Finland (no. 13 globally)
Germany (no. 17 globally)
Ireland (no. 18 globally)
Austria (no. 19 globally)
Iceland (no. 20 globally)

About the Doing Business 2017
Doing Business 2017 is the 14th in a series of annual reports, benchmarking the regulations that affect private sector firms, in particular small and medium-size enterprises. The report presents quantitative indicators on 11 areas of business regulation for 190 economies. Ten of these areas are included in this year’s ranking:

Starting a business
Registering property
Trading across borders
Getting credit
Dealing with construction permits
Getting electricity
Protecting minority investors
Paying taxes
Enforcing contracts
Resolving insolvency.

This press release is distributed by Copenhagen Capacity.

The first edition of the BestCities Global Forum was hailed as a momentous success by organisers and delegates alike as the three-day conference drew to a close in Dubai. One hundred percent of delegates surveyed reported the Forum fulfilled their main objectives in attending the event and would recommend it to other international association meeting planners.

Hosted in partnership with Dubai Business Events and Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), the Global Forum covered a range of relevant topics such as advancing the purpose of international association meetings through long-term legacy development, improving the benefits of association meetings to the host community and creating strategic partnerships with destinations.

Along with insightful Q&A sessions with associations sharing practical examples of best practice, one of the core take-aways from the Forum was the benefits for associations in focusing on simplicity when conveying their meetings and organisation’s brand values. Engaging and lively workshops, further armed delegates with the practical tools to help meeting organisers unlock the collective intelligence of their colleagues, in order to discover new creative and innovative ways of engaging with their association members.

BestCities Board Chair, Jonas Wilstrup, Convention Director of Wonderful Copenhagen Convention Bureau said: “As a global alliance of 11 premiere convention bureaus, BestCities offer meeting solutions beyond what any individual city or bureau. The Global Forum is the ideal example of the collective strength BestCities provide our clients as an Alliance, championing inspiring thought-leadership and practical and hands-on support in association legacy development. That we can deliver that support in a fun, informal and engaging environment, rich in education and networking opportunities, makes it a win-win for associations.

“I am delighted to announce the second BestCities Global Forum will take place in Tokyo in December 2017. That we are already receiving enquires about next year’s event is a testament to the positive word-of-mouth generated from Dubai’s success.”

With the majority of the workshops and sessions taking place in the JW Marriot Marquis, the Global Forum proved an excellent opportunity to showcase Dubai as a premier meeting destination, allowing delegates to experience first-hand Dubai’s warm hospitality, while providing deeper insights into the city’s rich heritage and ambitious future vision and innovation.

Steen Jakobsen, Director of Dubai Business Events, said:“It was a pleasure for Dubai to host the inaugural forum and to partner with BestCities Global Alliance and PCMA in creating an engaging agenda that reflects where we are headed as an industry. The importance of legacy is becoming a driving factor, not only for destinations, but for associations and the meetings they host. The Forum provided an ideal platform to share knowledge on legacy creation and I look forward to taking those learnings forward here in Dubai.”

35 international association executives attended the Global Forum, including representatives from International Political Science Association, World Autism Organisation, International Menopause Society, World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation and International Academy of Periodontology.

Reflecting on the Global Forum’s success, delegate Anna Davies, Training Coordinator for the International Council for Exploration of the Seas said: “The BestCities Global Forum provided an excellent opportunity to gain inspiration and ideas for my future conferences and events. I especially enjoyed the very high standard of content at the Forum, which has really given me something to “chew on.” I was also very impressed with the venue and the meeting forum, which facilitated good networking and lots of fun.”

Natasha Joyner, Events Manager, World Obesity Federation said: “The BestCities Global Forum is a fantastic experience that allows all involved to connect and learn from associations, destinations industry experts and to dive deep into key topics and trends happening in the business events industry”.

The 2016 BestCities Global Forum offered a packed programme of speakers including tribal leadership expert Dr Tommy Weir, Speaker and Professor of Hult International Business School; Oliver Martin, a stakeholder engagement strategist, specialising in destination development; Philip Davies, President of strategic brand consultancy EMEA Siegel + Gale and Sherrif Karamat, Chief Operations Officer, PCMA.

The BestCities Global Forum 2017 will take place in Tokyo in December and is open to senior association executives (or AMC on behalf of Associations) considering hosting International Business Events that rotate globally, relevant to any of the 11 BestCities Global Alliance partner cities: Berlin, Bogotá, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Edinburgh, Houston, Melbourne, Singapore, Tokyo and Vancouver.

To register interest and for further information on BestCities Global Forum, please contact: jane.cunningham@bestcities.net @BestCitiesGA www.bestcities.net

For more information, please contact Ali Liddy at Wire ali@wearewire.co

About BestCities:
BestCities Global Alliance is an international network of 11 leading convention destinations around the globe. They are distinguished by the commitment of the members’ convention offices to offering special standards of service. Members include Berlin, Bogotá, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Edinburgh, Houston, Melbourne, Singapore, Tokyo and Vancouver. www.bestcities.net

About Dubai Business Events:
Dubai Business Events is the official convention bureau of Dubai and a division of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing. With in-depth knowledge of Dubai, its unique culture, world-class convention venues and the specific requirements of the business event industry, Dubai Business Events offer a full spectrum of convention and event planning services. www.dubaibusinessevents.com

About PCMA:
PCMA inspires, connects and innovates the global business events community. We are the world’s largest community for Business Events Strategists; providing senior education and networking for the events sector. PCMA crafts and shares knowledge and market intelligence enabling organisations to make informed business decisions, while providing a platform for peer-to-peer exchange. Headquartered in Chicago, PCMA has 17 chapters throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico with members in more than 40 countries. www.pcma.org

Enhanced Hosted Buyer programme
New for 2016, European buyers can extend their visit to IMEX and opt in advance for a three day (two night) programme. This will allow them to spend more time at the show, giving them more time to complete their business objectives and take part in networking events and education sessions. This new option makes the programme highly flexible and is in addition to the day only and two day (one night) programmes which have become well-established over the last 13 years.

Hosted Buyers who book their own flights can now benefit from more flight options and, for the first time, will be offered a wider variety of complimentary food options in the hosted buyer lounge. Revised group appointment timings will give hosted buyers more time to explore the show floor – the show will now open at 9.45am, with no group appointments scheduled before 11am or after 4pm.

New destinations and venues
Demand from buyers to attend is at an all-time high with 24 new hosted buyer groups already confirmed from across Europe and the world. As always, among the 3,500 exhibitors who represent 150 countries, IMEX will feature a host of new meetings industry suppliers, destinations and venues who use the show to launch their products and services to the market.

Education
Two new themes will run throughout the show this year: ‘Business + ME’ focusses on personal development, CSR activities and wellbeing. New also is a track focussed on the sharing economy and how it is reshaping the way we travel and do business – this will include a high level panel discussion, due to take place on Wednesday 20 April, that will debate its impact on the meetings industry. The Inspiration Hub, home to all the show floor education, will also host experts exploring personal branding, business skills, creative learning, marketing & social media, research & trends and technology.

The day prior to IMEX in Frankfurt, Monday 18 April, is now packed with high level educational activities for both buyers and suppliers including:

Exclusively Corporate @IMEX – building your personal brand
Taking place at the beautiful Villa Kennedy Hotel, this is a valuable opportunity for corporate meeting planners from around the world to gather for a tailor-made day of education and private networking.
This year’s Exclusively Corporate event puts the spotlight on meeting and event planning as a career, focusing on how attendees can build their personal brand, demonstrate their value within an organisation and be more effective and efficient. This packed day of education and networking enables corporate meeting planners at all levels to foster valuable relationships and share best practice.

Association Day & Evening – how relevant is your association?
For professionals working for associations, organising international conferences and events, Association Day is a chance to assess how well their association is adapting in an ever-changing world. Relevancy is the focus for this year’s event and the ways in which associations across the globe are tackling this issue will be explored via a tailored programme of educational sessions and peer-to-peer problem-solving workshops. Throughout the day, issues experienced by associations across all industries are discussed, giving delegates the chance to forge partnerships and make worthwhile connections. The Day concludes with the ever-popular Association Evening event at the Marriott Hotel.

Inaugural PCMA Business School in Europe – rip up the rule-book, become an ‘outthinker’
PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association) is bringing its prestigious Business School to Europe for the first time alongside IMEX in Frankfurt. This free of charge programme is open to all and offers executives the chance to develop core business skills and learn from an MBA level professor. Dr. Kaihan Krippendorff, renowned business strategist, consultant and best-selling author, will lead the interactive session on ‘The Outthinker Playbook – Devising Disruptive Strategies’, exploring how to cultivate new approaches to business thinking and adopt a fresh “outthinkers” approach in response to changes in business. Kaihan will help delegates to develop new strategic thinking habits for solving real challenges and reach “strategic clarity”. The innovative class is also CMP certified.

Ray Bloom, Chairman of the IMEX Group, explains: “IMEX in Frankfurt, now in its 14th year, continues to showcase the amazing diversity and innovation within our industry, with both our new and established exhibitors using the show as their main platform to launch their products, destinations and venues to the global meetings market.

“At the same time we are constantly evolving the show and this year will be no exception, with major investment in our hosted buyer programme ensuring that buyers have the flexibility and time that they need to make the most of the range of business and educational opportunities at the show.”

Editors Notes
IMEX in Frankfurt takes place at Messe Frankfurt from 19 – 21 April 2016
To register as a visitor, please go to http://portal.imex-frankfurt.com/register.php?login=1
For press releases – http://www.imex-frankfurt.com/press/news-releases/
For high resolution photography – http://www.imex-frankfurt.com/press/images,-audio-video/press-photos/

The IMEX Group also runs IMEX America, America’s worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings & events, which will take place 18 – 20 October 2016 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center at The Venetian® | The Palazzo®.

Chairman Mr Col Hughes said the bureau had secured 113 events, worth over $318 million; and delivered 113 events, which had contributed over $251 million to the NSW economy in the period. To date, BESydney has secured a total of over $400 million in business to be delivered in the next eight years, which includes over $200 million in business secured for International Convention Centre Sydney, announced by NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres today.

Mr Hughes acknowledged the role of collaboration and, in particular, BESydney’s ongoing efforts to connect government, business, academia, and the local event tourism sector in the company’s overall success. Highlight events in 2014 and 2015, such as the 105th Rotary International Convention and the 6th IUCN World Parks Congress both achieved higher than forecast numbers with the help of major supporters across the city. While, major wins, such as the Amway China Leadership Seminar 2017 and Sibos 2018, wouldn’t have been possible without the whole city behind the bid.

“We are privileged to be backed by a broad cross-section of Sydney and NSW partners – the NSW Government, City of Sydney and of course numerous private sector supporters – that understand and value our sector, and share our passion for making Sydney one of the world’s greatest places to meet,” Mr Hughes said.

“I commend Lyn and her team for taking a leadership role in the community. They have succeeded in moving the conversation about business events beyond the bounds of the tourism sector and into the realm of social community benefit to harness broad and valuable support for business events in this city.”

CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith added that the company was encouraged by what it had achieved over the past 18 months and would continue to focus on strategies that delivered value for both its clients and partners, and cemented Sydney as a place that was inventing a better tomorrow.

“Business events are critical drivers of social change, scientific discovery, medical advancements, and so much more. Working across sectors, we take our role seriously as advocates for the sector, locally and globally, and will continue to strive for a future that wholeheartedly embraces business events as integral to our economic and social wellbeing.

“We are proud of the partnerships we’ve fostered over the past few years. This hasn’t happened by accident or good luck. Our industry research, of which we released two new studies in 2014 and 2015, is critical in giving us a solid basis for demonstrating our value beyond the tourism sector and drawing value for our clients from a much richer community of champions and supporters.

“We also released our Sydney Shines brand in May 2014, a departure from traditional approaches to marketing destinations in the business event landscape, and along with it, our magazine that brings Sydney’s stories of ingenuity and imagination to life, uncovering the rich and diverse fabric of the State’s creative, commercial and cultural capital and one of the world’s top 25 places to connect, collaborate, discover and shape the future.”

Confidence in the company’s ability to achieve tangible outcomes for the city is high, as illustrated by last week’s announcement that the City of Sydney would fund the company for another three years after achieving a 90 to 1 return on its initial $1.5 million investment during 2014-16.

BESydney also advises that Ms Deanna Varga, Assistant Director Commercial and Visitor Services at the Australian National Maritime Museum, was elected to the available Member Director role at the AGM. Mr Hughes welcomed Ms Varga’s appointment and thanked retiring Member Director, Ms Shelley Roberts, Executive Director Aviation Services for Sydney Airport, for her tenure.

“Judging by the enthusiasm of our exhibitors and Hosted Buyers we feel very confident that this new event format has been a huge success. Our strategy to mutually match the quality of both buyers and suppliers ensured their compatibility with each other. We also wanted to create a memorable experience and a strong community in addition to the valuable pre-scheduled appointments and that has been key to the success for everyone involved,” said Lois Wilcox Exhibition Manager ibtm arabia.

The only MICE event in the region to bring international and regional Hosted Buyers and exhibitors in a one-to-one ratio format, ibtm arabia delivered more than 3000 mutually matched and pre-selected appointments over the 2 days of business meetings. “The combination of the pre-scheduled appointments and nine networking opportunities have provided more touch points for everyone to help make meaningful connections,” commented Wilcox.

Zdenek Giormani, Director of the Czech Convention Bureau, was delighted with the new concept. “It’s a good way to do business, it’s more personal, I prefer it and the value of my meetings has also been very good.”

Similarly, Lee Ford, Head of Operations for QNCC said: “It’s been excellent for us, we have some very strong leads and a very positive response. It’s also been great for networking, no time wasters, even with other exhibitors, we have been able to catch up on everything going on in the MICE industry in this region, I am sure we will be back.”

Nicoletta Paphitou, Cyprus Convention Bureau, added to the enthusiasm of exhibitors. “I think this is the most effective exhibition that I have every participated in.”

Carole O’Connor, Marketing MICE Division for Rovos Rail in South Africa, added that the value to her company was outstanding. “This has been a very different event. Chic, classy, sophisticated, I love the way it has been put together. We have had good quality appointments and two very interesting incentive opportunities – of course we will be back.”

Marwan Haddad, Director of Sales & Marketing for Marriott Doha, said that the new appointment system and the fact that the event was “closed” to trade visitors worked well. “This has worked! The appointment set up where everyone moves after 15 minutes was right. The mutual match was also perfect and we have had concrete enquiries – we will be back next year.”

Ronar Nammour from Iktissadevents, UAE, was a Hosted Buyer for the first time. “It’s been very helpful to my business. We work for corporates as well as the public and government sectors and I am sure we are going to generate business. We are looking for opportunities for our clients in Europe including Spain and Switzerland as well as the GCC, many contacts I had not been able to reach, but I have now met with in person!”

Next year ibtm arabia (previously called GIBTM) will celebrate 10 years in Abu Dhabi. “Its importance to the region has been fundamental to the emergence of the MICE sector. When the event was launched there was very little infrastructure that supported meetings, conventions, events and incentives, but that has all changed,” added Wilcox. The number of meetings in the Middle East has grown even quicker than in other regions – in fact they have more than tripled over the last decade, according to Euromonitor’s International, MICE and Business Travel.

“Over the next five years we anticipate that the importance of the MICE sector will grow so that it will be the key to providing long term sustainability to the sector in Abu Dhabi” said Mubarak Al Shamsi, Director of the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, partners and official hosts to ibtm arabia. “The Mice industry contributes to the emirate’s tourism particularly since business visitors tend to have a larger disposable income than leisure visitors, we are confident that the success of the new style ibtm arabia will result in new business for our partners.”

For further information please visit www.ibtmarabia.com