VisitEngland hosts the first ever ‘England’ pavilion at IMEX exhibition
VisitEngland, along with twelve industry partners, hosted the very first England pavilion at leading global trade show IMEX 2011. The show, which took place in Frankfurt, attracted over 9,000 visitors, another record breaking attendance for the event. The England stand played host to 7 group buyer presentations including delegations from Italy, Germany, USA and The Netherlands. Back to back appointments were conducted by VisitEngland and its partners and initial partner feedback suggests plenty of interest for future business events and incentive programmes in England.
On the opening evening of the show VisitEngland hosted a drinks reception and dinner at the Flemings Deluxe Hotel. The evening presented an extra networking opportunity for England’s partners and invited buyers from North America.
Partners on the England pavilion included Visit Manchester, Manchester United, Manchester Central Convention Complex, Meet Birmingham, NEC Group, NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau, Liverpool Convention Bureau, ACC Liverpool, Conference Cambridge, Hiscox Insurance, STM Events and Cello Aviation.
Jessica Roberts, Head of Business Tourism at NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau commented “IMEX 2011 was a great success for NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau. There was strong interest in the destination from buyers and we are currently pursuing a number of good quality leads, from small incentive groups to a large international association congress in 2015. The England stand, though modest in size, worked well and there was a real sense of partnership working and a joined up approach from 'Team England'”.
Simon Gidman, Head of Business Visits and Events at VisitEngland said “IMEX is one the world’s leading trade shows for the business events industry and a huge business opportunity for England’s leading events suppliers. VisitEngland continues to provide an invaluable leadership role in hosting partners on this important business platform. The stand was busy from the word ‘go’ and partner feedback to date suggests that this has been a highly successful event “.