ASIA – The first IBTM India meetings industry tradeshow, which took place in Mumbai last week, was hailed by organisers Reed Travel Exhibitions as an “excellent new forum for business and knowledge”.
The table-top format brought together 80 Hosted Buyers with 72 exhibitors over the course of three days at the Grand Hyatt hotel.
Organisers report 2,496 appointments had been arranged for the Hosted Buyers, who came from 16 countries and also from eight cities in India. Suppliers represented 22 foreign countries and India.
The event opened with a half-day conference attended by 200 delegates and a keynote session from Devdutt Pattanaik, who talked about the teachings of mythology and how this can be translated into modern day business practices.
The presentation provided a perspective on how the world of business in India is evolving while it still maintains elements of ingrained tradition and beliefs. There was a panel debate about the state of the industry both inbound and outbound.
“As an exhibitor at a first time show, there is always some apprehension as to whether the show will meet aspirations and deliver leads from our target market. IBTM India has shown a very positive performance,” said Edward Mitchell, Sales Manager at Rovos Rail Tours, South Africa.
“Most of the B2B or B2C shows I have attended in India tend to be generic, but this was focused, relevant and I feel like I got some good leads. I look forward to seeing IBTM India grow in the coming years,” said Reem Khokhar, Regional Manager Asia Pacific at Visit England.
Incentives association SITE’s India Chapter timed a networking seminar entitled ‘The Power of Networking’ to coincide with IBTM India. The Chapter was launched in December 2012 and has 34 Indian members and three from Nepal.
Shinu Pillai, IBTM India Project Manager said: “The table-top format is a proven business model across Reed Travel Exhibitions’ events and we are confident that the impact of this first IBTM India on both international and domestic suppliers and buyers will set the scene for growth in 2014”.
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