We spoke with Claudia Hall, IBTM World and IBTM Asia Pacific exhibition director, to find out what attendees can expect as IBTM World celebrates 20 years in Barcelona Nov. 19-21.

How are you expecting this year’s event to be different from IBTM World 2023?

Every IBTM World event is the culmination of months of diligent behind-the-scenes work from an enterprising, creative and dedicated team. Seeing all that commitment and hard work come to fruition is always special, but this year it will be even more so as we mark our 20th anniversary in the beautiful city of Barcelona. Of course, we couldn’t let this slip by unacknowledged, so our 2024 edition will include a celebration of this historic milestone. As well as the extravaganza that is our famous Welcome Party, there will be regional artisanal pop-up stores, delicious tapas food-trucks, a showcase of the best Spanish artists and much more. 

At the heart of IBTM World has always been our desire to provide attendees with the utmost value for their time and commitment. This means keeping our finger on the pulse of the industry to ensure visitors have access to the very latest knowledge and trends, with speakers and sessions that are of most relevance to them. This year, the focus is people, the power of working together and the limitless potential that can be achieved when we do that while harnessing the very latest technological developments. Our content programme reflects this. As we delve into our #peoplepowered campaign, attendees can look forward to inspiring and engaging speakers and sessions covering insight, innovation, experience design, social responsibility, marketing, careers and advocacy.

Of course, our drive to cultivate the very best experience for attendees means we consistently strive to refresh our offering with new innovations. This includes The Forum for Advocacy, a new initiative for IBTM World 2024 bringing together senior leaders, politicians, policymakers, industry associations and academics in an invitation-only gathering to amplify the existing conversation around advocacy issues. We are also launching the Hotel Pavilion at this year’s show, a dedicated space for independent and small group hotel businesses to showcase their offer in an environment that has a luxury hotel feel and amenities. This is as well as our new Exceptional Experiences programme, a showcase of groundbreaking strategies to help in-house event professionals and marketers create experiences that fuel business growth.

Finally, last year was an introduction to IBTM World for me; our 2023 edition was all about experiencing IBTM World as exhibition director for the first time; engaging with our wonderful exhibitors, buyers and delegates; and understanding the dynamics of the show first-hand. This year, however, it has been exhilarating to put my own stamp on the event and lead the show from start to finish. I am beyond excited for visitors to experience the new elements we’re implementing at this year’s edition, ones that, I’m certain, will ensure IBTM World continues to be a beacon of inspiration, innovation and community for the events industry.   

What did you learn from last year’s event that helped you make sure this event would be even better for attendees?

Undeniable to me during last year’s show was the tangible value IBTM World provides for visitors.

Many exhibitors I spoke to commented on the quality of the hosted buyers and the excellent leads they had made. One exhibitor told me that in the first two days of the event, they had already issued two contracts with a further four excellent leads. Another said that they had 40 meetings during the show, which were all incredibly productive.

Indeed, several of our valued delegates at IBTM World 2023 commented on the enthusiasm they could feel returning to the sector and how it was clear from the wide range of international exhibitors and buyers present at the show that the industry was not only recovering, but also starting to thrive again.

IBTM World provides an unparalleled opportunity for the industry to come together as one community to share, discuss and debate. Testament to the benefit exhibitors find here, this year we’re welcoming a plethora of new destinations and hotels from across the globe including Inter MICE Asia, our first ever exhibitor from Uzbekistan.

Asia, the Middle East, Africa, North America, the Caribbean and Europe are all regions which will be bringing new insights, experiences and opportunities to our delegates at the 2024 edition. Those poised to make their debut include Birmingham & West Midlands, from the U.K.; China’s capital city, Beijing; and the East African nation of Mauritius. Sri Lanka and the Dominican Republic will both be making a much-anticipated return after five years away, while Toronto, Canada’s most populous city, will be taking a stand on its own for the first time.

We’re thrilled to be welcoming many new faces from the hotel sector too. Making their inaugural appearances are, amongst others, luxury Japanese hotel Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka; Ayana Hospitality, a chain of luxury hotels and resorts in Indonesia; and Palladium Hotel Group, which has properties in Spain, Italy, the U.S., Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Brazil. Greek hotel chain Civitel Hotels and Resorts and Italian hotel chain JADA Hotels Collection will also be introducing themselves to visitors, as will OKU Hotels, a group of luxury hotels across the Mediterranean.

Our new exhibitors exemplify the theme for IBTM World 2024—“People. Power. Potential.”—wholeheartedly. Their presence will only enhance the industry-leading quality of connections our wonderful delegates find here, and we can’t wait to expand attendees’ opportunities with ever more dynamic and exciting destinations and hotels.

Can you tell us about a topic or highlight from the conference program attendees should be excited about?

There is so much to choose from, it’s hard to narrow it down. From The Forum for Advocacy and the launch of our new Hotel Pavilion feature to the incredible array of new exhibitors and a conference programme packed with pioneering, insightful and captivating speakers. The element I would like to highlight, however, is our exciting new Exceptional Experiences programme.

Launched at a pop-up event at Cannes Lions, where it received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic reception, Exceptional Experiences is a stimulating new addition to IBTM World 2024. The programme will showcase groundbreaking strategies to help in-house event professionals and marketers create experiences that fuel business growth. It has been developed to directly address, and workshop solutions for, challenges faced by this community including, for example, how to utilise AI to increase efficiency without losing event authenticity.

During the show, the programme will be split into two parts. The first, an exclusive invite-only workshop for senior executives, VPs and influential leaders from different sectors, will take place on day one of the show. The second, the Exceptional Experiences Forum, will take place on day two. This dedicated content stream will see speakers from industry giants including Amazon, TikTok and Canva take to the Main Stage to deliver inspiring education sessions on subjects such as “how to harness AI and technology,” “building your community” and “leaving a lasting, positive impact on attendees.”

Exceptional Experiences has been specifically created with in-house event professionals and marketers in mind, and we can’t wait for their experience of the show to be enhanced with this programme devoted exclusively to addressing their needs.

Can you tell us about IBTM World’s partnership with MPI and why industry partnerships like this are so important for success?

Industry partnerships, like the one we have with MPI, are invaluable to us. Working collaboratively with our partners, we are able to open up doors for each other; to share knowledge, resources and opportunities that help build a better events industry of the future; and, most importantly, we are able to best support event professionals to thrive and create events, programmes and features for them that successfully address their needs.

Such positive and mutually beneficial working relationships are a tremendous example of our theme for IBTM World 2024—“People. Power. Potential.”—in action. They demonstrate how, by working together, we can achieve greatness. After all, as our theme advocates, what people need to succeed…is other people.