10th IMEX in Frankfurt - Business Opportunities & Celebration

 

10th IMEX in Frankfurt will combine strong business opportunities with air of celebration

With the 10th anniversary edition of IMEX in Frankfurt set to open its doors for three days on May 22nd at Messe Frankfurt, organiser Ray Bloom and his team have announced further growth in the hosted buyer programme, a strong and diverse exhibitor line-up plus new features for the IMEX Vision program.

IMEX 2012

This year’s extensive education program also breaks through the 100 mark for the first time, with almost 120 workshops, seminars and other learning opportunities on offer for both visitors and exhibitors. A number of changes to the IMEX website and diary functions plus improvements to hosted buyer refund processes have also been introduced. In addition, the 10th IMEX in Frankfurt will see free WiFi available throughout the show for the first time.

Around 3,500 exhibitors representing over 150 countries are set to exhibit at the award-winning trade show. The US section will be 15% larger and will include Detroit for the first time, with San Francisco also returning to the show. Cruise line, Buy the Sea, exhibits for the first time, as does ATA Hotels, DMC Connection, Eventschmiede, JTB Europe and Pacific World, who will also be bringing a hosted buyer group. Other new exhibitors include: Best Western, Escuela y Centro de Conferencias de Monte Leon, Incentive Destinations Myanmar, Qatar Airways, Mintcentive India, Relais & Chateaux, Tumlare, Vantage and the Venetian Macau. Mice Mallorca make a welcome return and Promo Tours becomes the first independent company operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina to exhibit at IMEX.

The technology area of the show will be 10% larger than in previous years with a sold out Tech Tap, plus the IMEX technology pavilion showcasing products and services from Amiando, ATIV Software, EventMobi, Evenium, Konnect and Video Tattoo amongst others. A new iPad Bar, sponsored by QuickMobile together with PSAV, will provide hands-on education on Apps for events. In addition, the IMEX App will be available for iPads for the first time.

Messe Frankfurt

26 established exhibitors are also taking larger stands for the 2012 show. Among the larger destination stands are: Boston, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Las Vegas, Mauritius, Moscow, Paris, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Texas, Turkey, Visit England and Visit Scotland. AIM International, Cvent, GL Events, and technology providers, Psideo and Ungerboeck will also have larger stands. Meanwhile, among the hotel groups Fairmont, Jumeirah, Kempinski and Starwood have all taken bigger stands this year.

This year’s winners of the IMEX in Frankfurt Wild Card competition are Sendai in Japan and the El Salvador Convention Centre in Central America. Both win free stand space on the Wild Card Pavilion plus, new for this year, a package of trade show and marketing support from business events consultancy, GainingEdge.