EIBTM show director Graeme Barnett described the 2010 show “an overall success” despite some travel issues for buyers and exhibitors, caused by snowfalls in northern Europe.
Barnett said that 250 seats had been made available on a 757 charter aircraft to take stranded buyers and UK exhibitors back to Stansted in the UK on the final day of the show, due to the closure of Gatwick Airport and the knock on effect on travel plans.
Hosted buyer numbers were unlikely to reach the 3,900 forecast pre-show, said Barnett. He estimated 2-300 had been prevented from attending by travel issues. As a result, he said, appointments were likely to drop from a projected 57,000 to around 54,000.
Successes of the show, he listed at EIBTM, including the live broadcast of the World Cup FIFA 2018 and 2022 announcements and the largest show daily newspaper.
The CEO summit attracted 60 senior level executives and there had been 59 educational sessions over the three days. The association programme attracted 285 buyers, the biggest ever.
Around 14,000 EIBTM participants would get an online survey from organisers Reed Travel Exhibitions.
In reply to a question from CN, Barnett said rebookings for the show ‘have been the strongest ever’.
‘I can’t guarantee we are back to the levels of business seen in 2008, but the curve is definitely up,” he added.
