GIBTM aims to be the “pivot” for MENA meetings industry

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BARNETT: GIBTM has huge growth potential.

GIBTM aims to become the driving force behind the expansion of the Middle East's meetings industry.

Organiser Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) said GIBTM was much more than a trade show and aimed to become a hub for learning, education and social gathering.

"GIBTM is the pivot for the meetings industry out here and the word pivot is used deliberately," explained RTE group exhibition director Paul Kennedy MBE.

"It isn't just a trade show in the traditional sense of the word - where people come and buy and sell - we want it to act as a meeting place so that people can gather to do business, to learn and also to network so it becomes that classic ancient marketplace," he said.

GIBTM and CIBTM exhibition director Graeme Barnett stressed that GIBTM was more than a three-day face-to-face live experience.

"This year we have the MPI Gulf meetings and events conference in Abu Dhabi, so we're not only creating a meetings week - if you add on the post-event fam tours, that makes it a seven- to 10-day event," he said.

Companies have the opportunity to run post-event fam trips so a proportion of hosted buyers can be invited to a number of destinations - a very popular facet of the hosted buyer programme, according to Barnett.

"Destinations across the GCC and North Africa have the perfect opportunity to effectively get involved in that expanded programme," Barnett added.

The extra events and fam tours are part of RTE's zplans to expand GIBTM and expectations are high within the company.

"It's an expanding programme and we have been satisfied with the growth so far, but certainly from our point of view we have very big expectations of year three and I think the industry has," Barnett said.

"Certainly, on the supply side of the industry, we are seeing them go back to the sales and marketing budget holders and say ‘we need to be at GIBTM, we can't afford not to be there'."

Once more people begin to understand the meaning of the meetings industry and its economic value, GIBTM is expected to grow in size.

"From our point of view the show is still in its launch phase and we would consider it to be so for three editions - it has huge growth potential," Barnett said.

The show would grow as the amount of products and services available increased, he added.

"We've also got new hotel groups and regional hotel groups that are starting to understand the value of the concept of the hosted buyer programme. Ultimately, we are paying for one big fam trip and our exhibitors can take advantage of that," he said.

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