The 31st edition of the international IBTM World fair was held in Barcelona on 27-29 November 2018. The event in question is regarded as one of the largest and most seminal global events dedicated to the meetings industry.

The three-day fair featured more than 77,600 scheduled business meetings and attracted exhibitors from 150 countries. For 54% of Hosted Buyers this was their first time at IBTM World, 20% more than in 2017. What is more, 50% of Hosted Buyers are completely new to the IBTM portfolio, an increase of 16% year-on-year.

This year’s edition of IBTM marked the first time that a brand-new concept of the Polish national booth was introduced to a business audience.

“I consider the latest edition of IBTM World to be highly successful. For more than 30 years the trade fair has remained an excellent platform for establishing relations and a place, where cities, regions and countries build their image as a destination for the meetings industry. The new design of the Polish booth received unanimously positive feedback both from our exhibitors and guests. We received many compliments, also from Polish hosted buyers who, as we know, tend to be a hard-to-please crowd. This was the first time that we had an opportunity to showcase the offer of organic regional products, encouraging guests to visit the booth and hold business talks in a less formal atmosphere. A large LED wall was used to display films presenting Poland and the offer of exhibitors. Our experience can be described as modern, hospitable, tasty and intriguing”, sums up Aneta Książek, Main Specialist at Poland Convention Bureau.

Nine sub-exhibitors presented their offer as part of the Polish National Booth:

1. Furnel Travel
2. ICE Kraków Congress Center
3. JAN-POL DMC Poland
4. Kraków Convention Bureau
5. Lublin Conference Centre
6. Sheraton Westin Luxury Collection Hotels in Poland
7. Supertour DMC
8. Warsaw Tourism Organisation - Warsaw Convention Bureau
9. WPT 1313 Rafał Pawełek