IBTM Americas expects more than 4,500 attendees at its next edition

During the recent press conference, IBTM Americas (Incentives, Business Travel & Meetings), the flagship event of the MICE industry, organized by RX, announced the particularities of its next edition that will take place under the concept "We are experiences co-creators”, which will take place on September 13 and 14, 2023 at the facilities of the Citibanamex Center in Mexico City.

For the event, the Organizing Committee expects to exceed the figures of 4,500 visitors, 600 hosted buyers, 1,000 exhibitors, and 200 stands and pavilions that will occupy more than 16,500 m 2 of exhibition space. "In this way, we will connect the community of professionals in the meetings and events industry from North America, Mexico, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, who will share their experiences and strengthen their business relationships," explained Eleonora García Ferrel, IBTM Show Director. Americas.

On this occasion, the presentation of Guadalajara as a host destination was confirmed, which will have the opportunity to show its offer of products and services specially designed for the organizers of practically all types of events.

In this regard, Claudia Vanessa Pérez Lamas, Secretary of Tourism of the State of Jalisco, commented that IBTM Americas will give them the opportunity to present their entity's offer, “[…] as a leader in MICE tourism; segment that adds 41,000 direct jobs to the destination and an economic benefit of $36,531 million MXN, which represents 20.4% of the total tourist activity in Jalisco”.

Proof of this, the official confirmed, is the historic investment of $22,000 million MXN for the expansion of the Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta Airports, the renovation of the Puerto Vallarta International Convention Center with an investment of $25 million MXN, and the opening of more than 20 new hotels in the coming years, which will add more than 3,000 rooms to the current offer.

For his part, Gustavo Staufert Buclon, Director of the Guadalajara Convention and Visitors Bureau, mentioned that “we are honored and excited to be the guest destination at IBTM Americas this year. This opportunity allows us to highlight to the world the endless benefits and experiences we offer as a destination for the meetings industry. Guadalajara is the only Latin American member of the Best Cities Global Alliance, host city for the 2026 World Cup, with more than 700 annual events and a wide range of more than 60 venues.”

The official highlighted that, in the year 2022, the tourist service providers of the so-called "Pearl of the West" organized 189 events in various areas that attracted 14.7 million tourists, of which 2.3 million of them were foreigners and 12.4 of national origin. . As a complement, the economic benefit from the lodging concept was $6,000 million MXN, divided into $5,300 million MXN in hotels and $800 million MXN in benefits on platforms.

Likewise, during the conference, Luis Antonio Villaseñor Nolasco, Director of the Public Trust for the Promotion and Tourism Advertising of Puerto Vallarta, presented himself, who indicated that during IBTM Americas they will further promote said destination "as the perfect place for the meetings segment thanks to its infrastructure, in which its International Convention Center stands out, which has state-of-the-art facilities that have hosted 31 events so far this year, leaving an economic benefit to the destination of more than $241 million MXN”.

It should be noted that, for the first six months of this year, Puerto Vallarta surpassed Cancun, Los Cabos and Acapulco in hotel occupancy with 79.1%, a figure higher than the average occupancy of hotels during the pandemic. Likewise, the destination received 1.40 million national tourists and 2.6 million international tourists, who take advantage of the geographical location, air and road connectivity, and the activities offered by the destination.

As a complement, Alejandro Ramírez Tabché, President of the Mexican Council of the Meetings Industry (COMIR), mentioned that IBTM Americas "has established itself as the place where the community of event designers and experience creators meet, where you can meet the best offer in the region”.

The main leader of COMIR indicated that more than 300,000 large-format events are held each year, mainly congresses, conventions, exhibitions, fairs, corporate and incentive trips; 60% of them are concentrated in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, and although tourism has recovered, this segment is still a little below what it was in 2019, when it contributed $28 billion MXN to the Gross Domestic Product .

Finally, Eleonora García indicated that almost 10,000 business appointments are expected to be held for this edition, more than 50 speakers will present themselves, and there will be complementary activities such as the specialized Pharma, Romance and Sport forums, the Sustainable Mindset Talks, the MBTA Educational Day, The Meetings & Events Transformation (MET) and the Event Design Conference, among many others, “and those interested in attending can now register at www.ibtmamericas.com. We are waiting for you”.