December 6, 2021 | By Bronwen Largier
Over 7,000 delegates attended IBTM World Barcelona last week, as the second major international business events trade show to come back face-to-face rolled out in Europe.
Over 1,200 companies from 70 countries exhibited at the event and more than 1,400 hosted buyers took part. Over 30,000 pre-scheduled appointments took place and satisfaction amongst attendees reached 4.7 out of five during the three-day event.
Marina Pegoraro, from Regione Autonoma Della Sardegna, said the event was important to the region she represented.
“Our partners have been able to reconnect with buyers and trade contacts and tell the world about the region. It was invaluable for our stand sharers to attend the show to help gain exposure for their brands as we recover together from the pandemic,” she said.
Nick Tinker from Cvent said the event experience had been a positive one.
“The fact that everyone’s here proves how much we’ve been longing to come back together for in-person events,” he said.
“Also, the quality of meetings this year has been fantastic; the footfall has been lower than previous editions, which is expected, but that’s allowed us to have higher quality meetings, have more time to build relationships and make new connections.
“This has also meant that buyers did make an effort to speak with as many exhibitors and make the most of their attendance.”
Australia had representation at the event, including the CEO and new owner of Arinex – and recently minted President of the Exhibitions and Events Association of Australasia – Nicole Walker who travelled to Europe to be on the stand for the event.
An online iteration of this year’s event will take place next week on December 14 and 15.