Buyers and exhibitors at The Meetings Show have praised day one of the 2015 event, focusing on the importance of the hosted buyer model and its ability to bring new business opportunities to both the supply and demand side of the industry.
Hosted buyers are the only viable trade show model in the modern business environment, comments a buyer. “The Meetings Show is a very important time in our diaries. All of our events over the last 12 months have been a result of our time with the show,” said Dr IsmaiI Khalil, President of the Web Applications Society, Austria. “For example, we have an event in Brussels planned and the contacts for that were made from last year’s show. I attend most of the major shows but it is The Meetings Show where I have done real business.”
Mihri Miralem from VisitScotland Business Events said: “At a hosted buyer-led event, the visitors want to talk, they have made a choice to visit our stand and have a specific reason to engage with our destination. This year, we’re talking to them about all those experiences, available across the country that allow delegates to get up close and personal with Scotland’s natural larder. For the third year running, The Meetings Show has delivered real quality buyers – it is a fantastic event and a vital date in our trade show calendar.”
Another exhibitor, Martin Linfield, Head of Event Insurance from Hiscox, believes that the show’s hosted buyer model guarantees quality. He said: “There is a difference between a genuine hosted buyer model and the diary systems other exhibitions have trialed in the past. It comes down to credibility and quality. Any show can offer an appointment system but a true hosted buyer programme examines the quality of each and every buyer. They interrogate their history, budgets and future business, only then, once they have passed stringent tests are they qualified and allowed to attend as part of the programme. That level of quality is what I want to see in visitors to my stand and The Meetings Show continually delivers it.”
Viktoria McCann from HRN Europe, Hungary – organiser of one of the largest HR technology shows, commented: “Being a hosted buyer is a great way to visit a show like this. The travel and accommodation were fantastically organised and the whole process is extremely smooth. There are so many great exhibitors here – some we have seen before but so many who are new to us and we hope to work with again in the future. In fact the quality of exhibitors has been so high we have barely had time to enjoy the luxury of the lounges and catering.”
“Day one was a huge success,” comments The Meetings Show’s Event Director, Steve Knight. “The positive comments are rolling in, exhibitors and visitors are delighted and it all proves just how much our show is wanted by UK and international markets.”
Visitors can still register to attend the 2015 show taking place until Thursday 9th July via www.themeetingsshow.com or onsite at Olympia London. Highlights include corporate, PA, healthcare, meetings design and technology education streams as well as extensive networking and new business opportunities.
Organised by Centaur Live (a division of Centaur Media Plc), The Meetings Show is the premier event for the UK inbound and outbound meetings industry, taking place 7-9 July 2015 and 14-16 June, 2016 at Olympia, London. Organised by meeting professionals for meeting professionals it is focused around a large exhibition, networking opportunities and professional education.
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