RX Global, organisers of Barcelona-based meetings and events
trade show IBTM World, has scrapped plans to launch an Asia Pacific edition of
the show in Hong Kong next year.
The inaugural event was due to be held at the AsiaWorld-Expo
centre, 19-20 March, however event director Claudia Hall told stakeholders in
an email it would ‘no longer take place’.
It means The Meetings Show APAC, which launched in Singapore last year, will be the only show in
town for industry suppliers who want to meet APAC event planners in their own backyard.
In her email Hall put the decision to pull back from Hong Kong down
to ‘the continued global increase in the outbound meeting and business travel
market from the APAC region.’
“Research findings highlighted that the APAC and especially
Chinese outbound business travel planners are becoming increasingly adventurous
in their choice of destination, and that spread of choice is at IBTM World.
So, we are encouraging all those scheduled to participate in the Hong Kong
event to join us in Barcelona and benefit from the global buyer and audience
that makes IBTM the annual choice of the meeting and business travel industry.”
An Asian edition of IBTM World has been on the cards before.
Originally a show had been scheduled to take place at Marina
Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, in Singapore, in 2020, but the pandemic
put paid to those plans.
Last year Northstar Travel Group – publishes of this title
– launched The Meetings Show APAC, (a sister event to the London-based show), in the same venue to
widespread industry acclaim.
Organisers say the 2025 edition – 16th – 17th
April – will be ‘bigger and better’ than the launch edition, which attracted 160
exhibitors, 250 buyers and more than 1,000 delegates.
Written By
James Lancaster
AMI editor James
Lancaster is a familiar face in the meetings industry and international
association community. Since joining AMI in 2010, he has gained a reputation
for asking difficult questions and getting lost in convention centres. Proofer, podcaster, and panellist - in his spare time, James likes to walk,
read, listen to music, and drink beer.
