From 30 November to 2 December 2010 Barcelona was the host city of the 22nd EIBTM Global Meetings & Events Exhibition Fairs. The EIBTM Fairs are among of the world’s major showroom events in the field of the meetings industry, both in terms of the number of customers and the effectiveness of trade negotiations. 3125 exhibitors from 90 countries participated in the last year’s event, and this year the number rose by 35, while 48 of them increased their stand areas. Despite the difficulties caused by weather conditions, over 3500 ‘hosted buyers’ and 4000 visitors reached Barcelona.
During the fairs, more than 50 seminars and conferences were held, for which 150 new places and almost 100 accompanying events had been prepared. Within the Polish national stand, our country was represented by the Convention Bureau of Poland, a division of the Polish Tourism Organisation (the host of the stand), the Warsaw Convention Bureau, the Kraków Convention Bureau, the Katowice Convention Bureau, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., the Palace of Culture and Science – Warsaw Congress Centre, Intercrac DMC, Mazurkas Travel DMC, and Haxel Events & Incentive. Trade negotiations were conducted in accordance with individual timetables of meetings between the exhibitors and the hosted buyers. Additionally, the Convention Bureau of Poland made 9 presentations on the destinations of hosted-buyer groups.
