๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒl ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ. ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ง๐ .
The concept reminded us of IBTM Events Barcelona, so it was easy to compare.
1. ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ป
The format feels similar to IBTM, but the overall scale seemed slightly smaller.
2. ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ณ๐ฎ๐น๐น
Because of the bad weather, there were fewer visitors. For exhibitors, this is frustrating. They invest in their stand and time, but conversations depend on traffic.
3. ๐ข๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ป๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต
We only attended one out of two days, and it worked well. Many exhibitors were available, so it was easy to connect without rushing.
4. ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ถ๐
IBTM felt clearly B2B focused. At Travel Trade Days, the audience was more mixed, with many independent visitors and a more mature travel audience. We noticed strong interest around the African destinations and suppliers section.
5. ๐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ง๐ผ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐: ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐
#AI and #sustainability were still key topics. The honest conclusion is that the industry is still figuring out how to make MICE events truly sustainable. Progress is happening, but we are not there yet. A special thank you to Thijs de Groot NBTC Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions, Booking.com, Melvin Mak TUI, Frank Radstake ANVR, and the host Lieke (Cornelia) Lamb for sharing their thoughts so openly and for managing to cover such a complex topic within a short time slot.
We would very much like to visit this event again next year. Hopefully with better weather and more opportunities to connect with even more colleagues across the industry. It was a valuable start to the year and a good reminder of how different formats and audiences shape the dynamics of each event.
