The 10th anniversary edition of IMEX in Frankfurt is all set to open its doors for three days on May 22nd and will continue till May 24, 2012. With the grand event just around the corner, Travel and Tour World (TTW) had an exclusive interview with Ray Bloom, IMEX Group Chairman as he unveils the travel prospects that will be highlighted at this award winning show.
TTW: IMEX – where the world meets, is once again back this year in Frankfurt – How are you planning for this grand forum?
Ray Bloom : With the 10th anniversary edition of IMEX in Frankfurt set to open its doors for three days on May 22nd at Messe Frankfurt, we are planning a strong and diverse exhibitor line-up plus new features for the IMEX Vision programme and the largest education programme to date with over 150 sessions. As this is our 10th anniversary of the show, we have some fun elements planned, as well as some nice surprises. For example, the anniversary has inspired us to be more creative with some of our IMEX Vision initiatives and we’ve also relaxed a few rules – such as restrictions on music and entertainment on the show floor on Wednesday at 1700 hours – to allow for a party atmosphere during “Celebration Hour“, which is our designated party time for everyone. That said, in all other ways, it’s very much business as usual. After all, that is what our exhibitors, buyers and visitors want from any IMEX show.
TTW: What have you learned from IMEX 2011 and what are the changes you are contemplating to make the show surpass its previous year’s success?
Ray Bloom : Well, there’s one thing that never changes and that is the desire of exhibitors, buyers and visitors to make the most of the business opportunities provided by IMEX, and to do so as efficiently as possible. For that reason, most of the developments we put in place each year are designed to encourage more appointments to take place and to make them increasingly more effectively. There’s a new “Visionary Events” workshop series for 2012, designed to showcase learning and ideas from those events which have pushed back the boundaries of event planning and creativity over the past year. New “campfires”, which are intimate 30-minute sessions on the show floor, will allow small groups to discuss ‘hot topics’ – typically green meetings or social media – with peers and experts. These are being delivered on our new IMEX-CIC Inspiration Centre this year (sponsored by Poland) and also on the Sustainability Hub and the Tech Tap for the first time.
