RECORD CROWDS ON DUBAI STAND AS EIBTM GETS UNDERWAY IN GENEVA

The European Incentive and Business Travel Meetings (EIBTM) exhibition got underway in Geneva yesterday (29th May) with a record breaking 3,250 exhibitors from 110 countries making it the world’s largest gathering of meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition industry professionals.

Dubai with a large 250 sq.m. stand at the event led by the Government of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) received more than 500 serious inquiries from travel trade professionals from Australia, the UK, France and Germany on the opening day itself.

DTCM Director Operations and Marketing, Mohammed Khamis bin Hareb said from the DTCM stand in Geneva, “EIBTM is the world’s leading business-to-business international forum for the MICE sector and Dubai with its wide array of hotels, conference, convention and exhibition facilities, excellent ground handling agents and destination management companies is well positioned to meet the needs of this important sector.”

He noted that the growth of EIBTM defies all expectations. “We are participating in Geneva for the 12th consecutive time this year and the event itself has been held for 14 years now and it just keeps growing with every passing year,” Mr. bin Hareb said.

Dubai has increased the size and scale of participation from 225 sq.m. last year to 250 sq.m. this year and from the throng of visitors on the stand it is becoming evident that the decision to expand stand size was appropriate. “We are competing against the best in the world and the opening day crowds provide encouraging evidence that we are the best destination in the Middle East,”said Mr. bin Hareb.

The Dubai stand is located in the Middle East section of the exhibition. EIBTM will possibly move to another city from Geneva in 2004 as cities in France, Germany, Spain Benelux and Italy have been contacted by organizers Reed Exhibitions to participate in the tendering process.