Back in Barcelona
R eed Exhibitions delivered its 2021 edition of IBTM World in Barcelona , 30 November-2 December , the first face-to-face event in the IBTM portfolio in two years . The show brought 7,000 attendees together , with 30,000 pre-scheduled one-to-one business meetings taking place .
Event professionals were also able to come together at networking and education sessions on and off the show floor at Gran Via and throughout the city .
Event director David Thompson told CMW that 1,200 exhibiting companies from 70 countries had attended the three-day event , as well l as 1,300 buyers .
“ The show was 70 % of the size it was in 2019 in terms of stand metreage ,” Thompson said . “ By 20222 we expect to be back to 2019 level .”
Thompson acknowledged that the appearance of the omicron Covid variant had seen confidence drop in the final run up to the show but that momentum had been good before and “ It was clear the industry wanted to get back to live events ,” he said .
“ By 2022 we expect to be back to 2019 level .”
50 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 116