The global business events community has reunited at IMEX in Frankfurt in a powerful sign of confidence for the sector. IMEX in Frankfurt, which takes place at Messe Frankfurt and runs until June 2.
With exhibitors representing over 100 countries, the show floor is the ultimate living reflection of the international business events market. The show, celebrating its 20th year, reflects a new business reality – and it’s one of steady and sustained confidence. There are over 40 new stands, and many returning suppliers who have expanded their presence at the show – all with a strong story to tell that reflects recent and significant investment in the sector.
This includes ExCeL London’s expansion, Ethiopia’s new convention bureau, the launch of Transcend Cruises and St Louis who are marking the start of direct flights to Frankfurt by bringing a high-level delegation to the show. Destinations are also using IMEX in Frankfurt as the stage to launch new venues, they include Uzbekistan, New Zealand, Austria, Heidelberg, Bahrain and Bangkok.
Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group, explains: “This week’s IMEX in Frankfurt represents a microcosm of the global marketplace and is at the heart of the industry’s restart. We’re in the early stages of rebuilding our sector but have every reason to be confident.
“The show floor will play host to partners, buyers and suppliers from across the globe, and the deals discussed here will lead directly to job creation, professional development and industry advancement, in turn helping to generate positive economic impact the world over.”
IMEX Policy Forum
Over 35 policy makers from 19 countries gathered at the Policy Forum, that takes place annually and provides a collaborative, global discussion platform to encourage policy creation that directly benefits the global meetings and business events industry.
The aim of this year’s Open Forum, held at the Frankfurt Marriott Hotel, was to help set the agenda for future high-level discussions and build better partnerships and understanding between policymakers and the industry. The session was a combination of roundtable discussions and ‘provocation panels’ designed to ask the moment’s most pressing questions.
Topics included the post-pandemic landscape and the role of the meetings industry in fuelling global business recovery. Measurement and data, effective storytelling, D&I, sustainability and greater collaboration between industry and government stakeholders were cited as ways to create better partnerships and mutual understanding.
City revitalization could also be the key to the future of the business events sector as moderator Professor Greg Clark CBE from The Business of Cities, explained: “The pandemic has caused a loss of confidence in the idea of human concentration in city centres, meaning there is a need to reinvent them. Going forward, business events should see whether they can be part of this revitalization because that would have the biggest multiplication impact for anyone.”
