Messebesucher bleiben länger
Demnach wurden insgesamt rund 9.000 Besucher der Messe für die Meeting-, Incentivereisen-, Kongress- und Eventbranche (MICE) gezählt. Unter ihnen waren mehr als 3.900 Hosted Buyer aus 75 Ländern. 27 Prozent von ihnen kommen aus Überseemärkten – ein Viertel mehr als noch im Jahr 2012. Am ersten Messetag, dem 21. Mai 2013, waren über 2.000 der geladenen Top-Einkäufer – ebenfalls mehr als im Vorjahr – in der Messehalle unterwegs und trafen sich zu geschäftlichen Gesprächen mit den Ausstellern. Auch am zweiten Tag wurden mit 3.400 sogar mehr Hosted Buyer gezählt, da die hochkarätigen Gäste vermehrt für mindestens zwei Tage auf der Messe bleiben.

Die Zahlen zeigten, so Bloom, dass auch die übrigen Messebesucher inzwischen mehr Zeit in der Messehalle verbringen: Über die Hälfte der am ersten Tag registrierten Besucher suchten die Halle 8 der Messe Frankfurt auch am zweiten IMEX-Tag auf. „Dies ist eine wichtige neue Geschäftsentwicklung, über die wir uns sehr freuen“, so der IMEX-Chairman.

Rekordzahl an Gesprächen sorgt für Geschäftsabschlüsse
Bei der abschließenden Pressekonferenz erklärte Bloom, dass Veränderungen im Online-Diary-System der Hosted Buyer sowie Optimierungen der Online-Kommunikation zwischen Einkäufern und Ausstellern, wie zum Beispiel die Single IMEX-Inbox für Hosted Buyer, zu einem neuen Rekord von über 53.000 individuellen Terminen geführt haben – ein Zuwachs von 33 Prozent gegenüber 2012. Insgesamt wurden rund 65.000 Termine gezählt, darunter auch Gruppentermine und Präsentationen an den Ständen.

Der IMEX-Chef zitierte Mark Spivey, Director of International Sales der Maritim Hotels: „Für uns war bereits  der Beginn der diesjährigen IMEX großartig: Innerhalb der ersten fünf Minuten bei einem Networking-Event am ersten Messetag konnten wir ein großes Geschäft an Land ziehen! Wir konnten uns eine Veranstaltung mit 1.500 Teilnehmern in Berlin sichern – der großartige Start einer großartigen Messe!“ Ein ähnliches Statement gab Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo vom South Africa National Convention Bureau ab: „Wir wurden wirklich auf Trab gehalten - 60 vereinbarte Termine fanden allein gestern statt! Die Möglichkeit, vorab Termine zu vereinbaren, ist wirklich nützlich – sie erlaubt uns, unsere Zeit auf der Messe effizient zu planen.“

Politischer Durchbruch
Bloom ging auch auf den Erfolg des „Politicians Forum“ am Eröffnungstag der IMEX ein. Erstmals nahmen daran drei Tourismusminister – aus Mexiko, Südafrika und Ägypten – teil. Der IMEX-Chairman bewertete dieses hohe Maß an politischem Interesse am Forum als klaren Durchbruch. Die anhaltenden Bemühungen der Branche für mehr Unterstützung von Seiten der Politik zeigten nun deutlichen Erfolg. Er verwies darauf, dass bereits 27 politische Vertreter die neue „Declaration of Support“ für die Veranstaltungsbranche unterschrieben haben. Die IMEX verfolgt das Ziel, bis Ende des Jahres 100 Unterschriften für die Unterstützungserklärung zu sammeln.

70 Prozent der Einkäufer aus Unternehmen neu auf der IMEX
Der IMEX Association Day am Montag, dem 20. Mai 2013 hat erneut mehr als 300 Vertreter von Verbänden für einen Tag voller Weiterbildung und Networking nach Frankfurt gebracht. Die Teilnehmer äußerten sich sehr positiv zum diesjährigen Programm.


Lob für umfangreiches Weiterbildungsprogramm
Anerkennung erhielt Bloom auch für das diesjährige Weiterbildungsprogramm der IMEX – wahrscheinlich das beste, das die Messe bisher überhaupt geboten hat. „Die Reichweite, Qualität und Bandbreite der behandelten Themen sowie Formate wie die Campfires passen zur Messe und auch zu der Art und Weise, in der unsere Besucher heutzutage ihr Wissen erweitern möchten.“

Die deutschsprachigen Keynotes in diesem Jahr, die deutsche Compliance Clinic und die auf tägliche Themenschwerpunkte ausgerichteten Seminartage des GCB German Convention Bureau e.V. kamen im deutschen Markt sehr gut an, so Bloom. Er dankte dem GCB erneut für die anhaltende Unterstützung und stetigen Input. Bloom gratulierte dem strategischen IMEX-Partner für die bislang größte Zahl an Ausstellern auf dem Deustchlandstand – 216. Für seinen nachhaltig gestalteten Auftritt wurde das GCB in diesem Jahr zudem mit dem IMEX/GMIC Green Exhibitor Award ausgezeichnet.

Zusammenfassend zeigte sich Bloom hochzufrieden mit dem Verlauf der Frankfurter IMEX 2013: „Von der Anzahl geschäftlicher Termine bis hin zu den Zuwächsen bei der Zahl der Hosted Buyer und Besucher zeigte sich erneut eine sehr gute Entwicklung. Wir haben nützliche Technologien installiert, die in positive Weise zum Geschäft von Ausstellern sowie Veranstaltungsplanern beitragen und auf denen wir im Jahr 2014 aufbauen können.”

Within the scope of their collaboration “KÖLNDÜSSELDORF – The Meetropolis”, the two Rhine metropolises provide information about what they have to offer and jointly market themselves as a conference region. From 21st – 23rd May 2013 the two cities will be presenting themselves jointly at the IMEX in Frankfurt, the world’s most important trade fair for the MICE industry (MICE = Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events), which brings together over 3,500 exhibitors from more than 150 countries, and attracts around 9,000 visitors. Once again, the two Rhine metropolises of Cologne and Düsseldorf will be presenting their strengths in this important market. The Meetropolis Team and ten partners from the hotel, event venue and food-service industries will be informing visitors about this attractive convention region at Stand F040 in Hall 8. A total of 28 stand personnel will be available to visitors at the 85-square-metre joint stand which directly adjoins the Germany pavilion of the German Convention Bureau (GCB).

Germany remains the most popular location for event planners in Europe, and takes second place worldwide after the USA. The Meeting and Event Barometer 2013 which has just been published by the European Institute for the Conference Industry (EITW), shows that the Cologne/Düsseldorf region is the third most popular destination for event organisers, putting it ahead of the Rhine-Main region in 2013. First place was taken by the Munich region and surrounding area, followed by the greater Berlin/Potsdam area. The two Rhine cities provide the ideal conditions for international MICE events: The central location with three international airports (Düsseldorf, Cologne-Bonn and Frankfurt/Main), excellent rail links, and outstanding infrastructure guarantees first-class accessibility in terms of both travel and accommodation. Both metropolises number amongst the Top 6 trade fair venues in the world, hosting over 48 of the world’s leading trade fairs, and with a total exhibition area of over 600,000 square meters. Important conventions in Düsseldorf in 2013 include the 64th German Bar Council Convention at the beginning of June, and the 109th Annual Convention of the German Society of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. In Cologne this year, events include the 44th Annual Convention of the German Society of Medical Physics, and the 19th IA Humans Space Symposium at which 80 astronauts from all over the world are expected.

This concentrated convention experience, the know-how and the service quality of the Meetropolis Team form the basis for the success of a vast array of events. “We custoMICE your meeting” stands for customised, customer-oriented solutions. The promotional campaign aimed at IMEX visitors is also customised: Each guest will receive a high-quality thermo cup that will be individually engraved on the spot – a “custoMICEd” souvenir for when they’re out and about.

The most important information and communication platform of the Meetropolis campaign is the two city partners’ website. Event planners, journalists and others will find all they need to know about the Meetropolis region at www.meetropolis.de. After this year’s IMEX, a dedicated area of the website – www.meetropolis.de/de/newsroom/imex-2013.html – will once again provide the latest photos and impressions of the trade fair. Right on time for the IMEX, the mobile website also went live, providing another example of how customer-oriented the Meetropolis is. The website is ultra user-friendly and intuitive, and it’s perfect for the members of the Meetropolis’s MICE target group who are frequently on the road, and mainly use their smartphones to retrieve information.

KÖLNDÜSSELDORF - The Meetropolis, a collaboration between the Cologne Convention Bureau and the convention bureau DÜSSELDORF, is the point of contact for event planners in the neighbouring convention destinations of Cologne and Düsseldorf. The hospitable Meetropolis has over 300 conference and event venues in the two Rhine metropolises – a wide-ranging selection that meets every requirement and can always provide the perfect setting whatever the number of visitors, desired atmosphere or occasion. The aim of this collaboration is to position the two event locations of Cologne and Düsseldorf even better in the international convention business by means of various marketing activities, and to significantly raise international awareness of these convention destinations.

www.meetropolis.de

From 21st to 23rd May 2013, IMEX – the world’s biggest trade show for meetings, incentive travel and events – will be held in Hall 8 at the Messe Frankfurt exhibition centre. More than 3,500 exhibitors from 157 countries are expected to be there.
The initiative project ‘Feel the spirit ... do-it-at-leipzig.de’ will be presented by Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing (LTM) GmbH at the Germany booth of the German Convention Bureau e. V. (GCB). Together with the Congress Center Leipzig (CCL) and Porsche Leipzig GmbH, the city’s great variety of conference and congress options will be introduced to the international visitors.

Thanks to the city’s high innovation potential and its excellent local infrastructure, Leipzig has become increasingly popular as a destination for international congresses, conferences and events in recent years. This is in great measure due to the Leipzig Trade Fair company (Leipziger Messe GmbH) with the CCL, who have long been first division players in the congress and event business. In 2012 the expert magazine ‘Business Destinations’ acknowledged them as the Best Congress Centre, and in February 2013 they were awarded the Meeting Experts Green Award in the category Sustainable Event. About 100 congresses and conferences with around 100,000 participants are held in the CCL every year.

Renowned events, such as the International Transport Forum (ITF) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the LINC (Leipzig Interventional Course) congress and the World Conference on Regenerative Medicine (WCRM) have regularly been hosted in Leipzig for many years. For the first time, the leading conference and exhibition for high performance computing, networking and storage – the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC) – will be held in Leipzig, from 16th to 20th June 2013.

And there are more top-class congresses, conferences and events on Leipzig’s calendar, such as the 42nd WorldSkills Leipzig 2013 – the international competition of skilled workers and trades on a world championship level – from 2nd to 7th June 2013, the 5th Congress of European Microbiologists FEMS from 21st to 25th July 2013, the 35th ESPEN Congress on Clinical Nutrition & Metabolism from 31st August to 3rd September  2013 or the 13th Congress of the German Interdisciplinary Association of Intensive-care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI) from 4th to 6th December 2013.

The Leipzig Porsche plant boasts a world-wide unique constellation: It is equipped with state-of-the-art production processes, and in June 2012 the 500,000th ‘Made in Leipzig’ Porsche car rolled off the line. In 2013, a new model series is going into production – the compact sports utility vehicle Macan. The Porsche World of Experience, including the Customer Centre, the FIA approved circuit and the plant’s own off-road course, offers a combination of professional meeting facilities with an exceptional supporting programme.

With a growth of 13.4 percent, the highest among all major German cities, Leipzig again set a record in 2012, counting almost 2.5 million overnight stays. Participants of congresses, conferences and events have an essential part in this. Further increases are expected in the next years since new hotels are currently being built and the Leipzig Congress Hall is scheduled to open as a congress centre in 2015.

For many years, the project initiative ‘Feel the spirit ... do-it-at-leipzig.de’ has been setting new standards in international congress marketing. The co-operation of partners like the LTM GmbH, Leipziger Messe GmbH, conference hotels, event locations, agencies, PCOs and carriers has played an essential role in this connection. These 48 partners share the marketing costs and jointly promote Leipzig as a destination for conferences and congresses. On the project group’s website – www.do-it-at-leipzig.de – event planners can find numerous details and photographs of all service providers. They can screen these with the help of various search functions and they can send an inquiry. Additionally, the conference brochure ‘Meetings & Events in Leipzig’ is available. It is prefaced by emotional statements of well-known personalities from the industry and the city, and it can be obtained from LTM GmbH.

Information on the IMEX in Frankfurt, 2013: www.imex-frankfurt.com

Information on the CCL Congress Center Leipzig: www.ccl-leipzig.de

Information on Porsche Leipzig GmbH: www.porsche-leipzig.com

Information on on Leipzig: www.leipzig.travel, www.leipzig.de









Picture: Cover of the conference brochure “Meetings & Events in Leipzig”
Photo: Andreas Matthes/Hoffmannschaft

The principles of sustainability are firmly rooted in all aspects of our society. More and more companies across various industries, consumers and other actors in society are placing greater importance on efficiency and ecological responsibility. This is also reflected in CCD Congress Center Düsseldorf's programming.

For example, "Energy Storage – International Summit for the Storage of Renewable Energies“ has been held for the second time there already. Over 530 people from 33 countries attended and 45 trade show representatives participated in this international trade show and conference hosted by Messe Düsseldorf and Solarpraxis AG. This influential two-day meeting drew together experts from research institutions, industry and politics and bolstered practically realizable and economically viable solutions for storing captured renewable energy.

On June 18-19, the Fifth NRW Wind Energy Industry Day will follow. Participants from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and other countries as well as approximately 80 presenters are expected at CCD Congress Center Düsseldorf. The program includes lectures on various topics along the value creation chain, from facility development to industry consumption.

"solar meets glass," the Third Industry Summit for Markets, Costs and Technology also drew a great deal of attention. This two-day conference provided an overview of photovoltaic markets and technologies.

Other sustainability-related congresses and events at CCD Congress Center Düsseldorf are in the pipeline.

Sustainability is also firmly anchored in DüsseldorfCongress's own philosophy. The meetings company views ecological efficiency and responsibility as an on-going process. Last year, CCD Congress Center Düsseldorf was awarded the Green Globe certificate for the second time for its sustainability management practices. In the event venue, the certification criteria also serve as a set of measures which are implemented continuously. In addition, last year DüsseldorfCongress also committed to adhering to "rightandfair" (in German: “fairplichtet”), the sustainability code of the German speaking event industry.

With a total capacity of up to 15,000 visitors, CCD Congress Center Düsseldorf is the third largest convention centre in Germany and the largest directly on the Rhine River. In the 2012 fiscal year, the venue hosted 27 conventions with over 1,000 participants each. In total, approximately 472,000 visitors attended conventions and meetings there – nearly seven percent more than the year before.

www.duesseldorfcongress.de

DüsseldorfCongress will present the world's largest combined meeting venue at IMEX 2013. Representatives of the meetings company will be present at the most influential meeting industry trade fair in the world in Frankfurt am Main from May 21 – 23. At the fair, the company will advertise Düsseldorf as a meeting destination and introduce the meeting specialists attending the trade fair to its large portfolio of venues, including ESPRIT arena, CCD Congress Center Düsseldorf and the halls of Düsseldorf's fairgrounds, Messe Düsseldorf, which in combination constitute the world's largest venue for meetings and events, whereby ESPRIT arena serves as a central plenary hall for up to 50,000 people.

"IMEX is Germany's leading trade fair in the meetings and incentives industry and a strong attraction for international meeting planners. This year, almost 9,000 bookers and meeting planners are expected to attend. As one of the largest providers of meeting venues in Europe, DüsseldorfCongress is present at the trade fair regularly. Over the past years, the company has drawn special attention and made numerous contacts to event projects at the fair due to the large number of venues it offers," reports Hilmar Guckert, CEO of DüsseldorfCongress.

Reflecting a successful year in 2012, DüsseldorfCongress can once again report positive figures. Last year, the company hosted 274 events with over 1,000 attendees each, including 59 large congresses and company events, as well as  a sizeable number of conferences and seminars which add up to over 3,000 events with over 2.1 million visitors in all of its venues combined.

Trade show visitors can find DüsseldorfCongress at booth F 100-12, as well as at the joint booth of the "KÖLNDÜSSELDORF – The Meetropolis" project, F 040. If you are interested, please feel free to make an appointment in advance to speak with a representative – either as a registered IMEX visitor, via your personal IMEX calendar or by telephone (+49 (0)211 4560 - 8407) or e-mail info@duesseldorfcongress.de.

www.duesseldorfcongress.de

What’s in Store for Meetings and Business in 2013

By Jennifer Juergens

“Cautiously optimistic” is how meeting planners and hoteliers characterize their business climate predictions. And while these business professionals seem pleased with the first quarter of 2013, they have also adopted a wait-and-see attitude—depending on what happens in the U.S. Congress, as it relates to government spending.

[...]

International Meetings

Travel to London saw a big uptick with the Olympics and will continue this year, according to Chris Lynn, vice president, North America and emerging markets - business tourism at London & Partners, the city’s convention and visitors bureau.

“The fact that President Obama was reelected makes it business as usual for us,” Lynn said. “The relationship between London and the U.S. is critical, because 50 percent of European headquarters for Fortune 500 companies are in London. I think 2013 will be a year in which we will see a degree of business growth.”

Laura d’Elsa, New York-based regional director for the US and Canada, the German Convention Bureau, is also optimistic about international meetings and business events coming to Germany, citing heightened interest at trade shows.

“We are continuing to educate [businesses] that while they may spend more on flights, hotels are more affordable and they’ll get their VAT [tax] back,” d’Elsa said.

One business professional, who organizes international events, says she is not seeing any negative impact on her clients’ meetings for the upcoming year.