Conference & Meetings World Issue 101 — July / August | Page 19

Big interview
What
feedback have
you had from
visitors and
what might
you change/
develop for
2020?
October 2020.
What is the secret to creating a good
hosted buyer programme? How do
you ensure quality?
With my partner Arnaldo Nardone
(ex-ICCA President – ed) we have more
than 30 years in this industry. We know
the people and companies that work in
this sector well.
We don’t outsource the hosted
buyers selection, but we have a special
team that knows exactly what we are
looking for.
I assure you that we have at least 95%
of effectiveness in our selection with 60%
new buyers each year. We consider the
programme to be the heart of the show
and the reason why clients return every
year.
What were the final visitor and
exhibitor numbers this year?
It was a record. More than 2,000 visitors,
800 exhibitors, 253 VIP hosted buyers,
750 buyers, more than 8,700 meetings.
You must take into account that the show
is not open for everybody, only for those
accepted for registeration and who have
meetings confirmed.
The social programme was very
popular this year. What was your
personal highlight?
We design the programme for
networking, with breakfasts and lunches
and presentations of destinations, but the
iconic attraction is our Gala Dinner. We
first did it for the celebration of our 10th
anniversary and everybody liked it and
asked us to do it again, so now it is
something that all participants anticipate
with great expectation.
This year our Gala Dinner was
dedicated to Colombia, our next
destination host, and they put on an
incredible show with more than 40
artists. People enjoyed it and danced
until late in the evening.
Tell us about the Awards.
They run alongside the Gala Dinner and
we organise it so that all our regional
associations have a place to recognise
their members. We started with the
Latin Award given by Eventos
Latinoamericanos 12 years ago, together
with FIEXPO. Now there is a range of
awards: ACCCLATAM, ICCA, Latin
Convention Bureaus. But we also give
awards for Best Stand, Emerging
Destination, as well as the FIEXPO
Award and the Forum Award.
What is your best piece of advice for
successful exhibiting?
The team. It is everything. If you look at
the two most important shows in the
world from this sector, you can prove it.
One having a great team and success and
the other not.
How did the pre-show educational
content go. What were you most
proud of there?
We have been adjusting the educational
content each year, and I think that now
we have achieved the right content and
timings, inviting prestigious speakers,
with a selection of themes that are right
for our countries.
ISSUE 101
/
We are still
waiting for the
results of a
survey that we
make every
year, but at first
hand we know
that people were
happy, made
good business
and contacts
and enjoyed
meeting
partners and
friends. Every
year we try to
innovate and
develop new
things, and of
course, going to
a new venue like
Cartagena we’ll
have a lot of
new things to
offer and
proposals. And,
of course, the
climate will be
attractive. We
are moving
from winter to
summer!
CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
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19