GIBTM 2008: Questions and Answers

GIBTM 08: The Gulf Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition - GIBTM has been launched in response to the demand by the region to have a dedicated and regular event for meetings and incentives industry. Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) were delighted to be approached by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) to organise such an event.

It fitted perfectly with their current strategy to be represented in dynamic emerging markets with the real potential to become key destinations on the map for meeting planners. GIBTM will join RTE’s growing portfolio of global meetings and incentive events that include EIBTM, CIBTM, AIME, ICCA now serving the meetings and incentives industry across the globe.
GIBTM will, in fact, be based on the successful format and brand values of EIBTM, which delivers the best business- to-business opportunities, the best networking and best professional education.  A high quality Hosted Buyer programme will ensure that exhibitors meet genuinely interested buyers with business to place in the region. A key aspect of the Hosted Buyer programme is that the appointments are buyer driven, an initiative the we feel our exhibitors will be greatly in favour of as they have been at EIBTM where over 3300 Hosted Buyers attended and 40,000 one-to-one meetings took place in 2007.
Over 700 Hosted Buyers have already applied for the event (and are waiting to be qualified).  We are expecting to receive over 275 Hosted Buyers during GIBTM, all of whom will have to meet strict qualifying criteria and prove their purchasing / decision making authority in order to be accepted onto the programme. Quality of the buyers attending is essential; this is key to the success of GIBTM as our exhibitors will not accept anything less.  Buyers will also attend as visitors and we are expecting an attendance of 1500.
1/3 of Hosted Buyers will be from the Middle East region, 1/3 from Asia and 1/3 European.  We also expect approximately 1500 trade visitors from the Middle East region.  Trade visitors and Hosted Buyers will include corporate buyers, agency buyers, Professional Conference Organisers, Meetings Planners, business travel and incentive travel buyers and agency buyers.
On top of this we have international exhibitors from across the globe, to include France, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Cyprus, Singapore, Thailand and also from within the Middle East region. They will include airlines, conference venues, convention and visitor bureaux, hotels and hotel groups, spas, event management, DMCs, incentives specialists, tourist organizations amongst others. A full exhibitor list can be found at http://www.gibtm.travel

GIBTM is an event dedicated to the meetings and incentives industry; it aims to provide the best business opportunities, best professional education and best networking, supported by the Hosted Buyer programme. It will become pivotal for the meetings and incentives (MICE) industry in the Gulf and wider Middle East region.

ATM is a leisure dominated event, however as many destinations are represented ATM did have a small percentage of meetings buyers and this will probably continue. GIBTM however will be dedicated to the meetings and incentives sectors and is being promoted as such regionally and internationally. The Hosted Buyers and trade visitors numbers are expected to increase year on year as the event matures. GIBTM is also a b2b event with a strict appointment system driven by Hosted Buyers.

'GIBTM aims to be pivotal in thrusting the Gulf and the Middle East region head first into the running as a serious contender for the meetings and incentives industry. 

This information was provided by Reed Travel Exhibitions will bring together suppliers and buyers in a dedicated meeting place, where networking and professional education will play an important part in the programme.' Paul Kennedy MBE, Group Exhibition Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions.