All indications are that this year’s edition of IBTM World, taking place at Fira Barcelona, Nov. 27-29, is going to be another can’t-miss event.

Organizers reported last month that first-time hosted buyer numbers are up 5 percent over last year, with confirmed buyers representing more than 70 countries.

“Our enhanced Hosted Buyer program, introduced for last year’s event, resulted in us breaking our show record for the number of meetings that took place,” Shane Hannam, IBTM portfolio director, said last month. “We’ve been working hard to build on that success, taking insights and learnings from our own data and conversations with our customers as we created the program for this year’s event.”

The Knowledge Programme for IBTM World 2018 has been extended to include three outside-the-industry keynote speakers—Duncan Wardle, an important creative force behind The Walt Disney Company; Dex Torricke-Barton, former head of communications at SpaceX and executive at Facebook and Google; and award-winning millennial tech entrepreneur Charlotte Pearce—in addition to 55 education sessions.

There are plenty of new opportunities this year, as well—for both participants and the industry at large.

The experiential Exploratory Zone will offer innovative ideas amidst some of the most cutting-edge technologies as they intersect with meetings and events (such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and facial recognition).

As part of a partnership with Positive Impact, representatives from several United Nations bodies will be participating throughout the event, including two education sessions, Q&A sessions on the show floor and more. The overarching effort is to establish a more sustainable event industry.

“At IBTM World we are ensuring there is the opportunity for our industry to be having conversations about what our next action steps in sustainability could be and how this makes business sense,” said Positive Impact CEO, Fiona Pelham, who will be launching the group’s latest sustainability report to “highlight the importance of collaboration and taking action to understand your own sustainability challenges as the first step in making optimal business decisions.”

And what’s on offer at IBTM World 2018 continues, from the industry’s longest-running tech awards show to networking events and more. That’s why more than 3,500 buyers and more than 3,000 exhibitors from more than 150 countries are expected at this edition. Last year’s event saw more exhibitors and buyers come together for more than 74,000 pre-scheduled meetings.

For complete details about IBTM World, visit www.ibtmworld.com.