Inaugural event hailed as resounding success for European MICE market

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Christina Belenky
Group Marketing Director
216-706-3731
cbelenky@questex.com

NEW YORK, NY – October 28, 2011. Europe Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchange (EMITE) was hailed as a resounding success by all who attended last week during the inaugural event. EMITE was held October 17-19 in London at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge and is the latest addition to the Global Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchanges portfolio that includes sister events Incentive Travel Exchange and the Caribbean Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchange.

EMITE has a proven appointment-based format for the European market that exclusively targets only the most qualified, top-producing European MICE buyers and brings them together with hand-selected global travel suppliers. The event focuses on productive one-to-one appointments held in the privacy of each supplier’s deluxe hotel suite and multiple networking opportunities throughout three days to build valuable business relationships.

 “We are thrilled to bring our successful brand to the European market and this first year solidified our position in the MICE industry overseas,” remarked Jennifer Fernandez, show and event director, EMITE. “Our focus was to deliver a unique and unmatched experience for our participants and are pleased to know that our event was held in such high regard by buyers and suppliers alike. It is clear that EMITE is the preferred event for those looking to experience a greater return on their investment and time than they normally would at larger scale events.”

Allison Summers, Site managing director, stated, "Site is pleased to have partnered with EMITE during its first year in Europe. Like its US and Caribbean sister events, this edition provides both qualified buyers and potential business partners a platform to conduct focused conversations in relaxed and private environments.  We were supportive of this expansion to Europe and we hope our Site members and industry friends can continue to participate in and realize the benefits of this well-structured event."

“In my experience, this is the most personalized event in the industry, which certainly adds to its attractiveness.  Moreover, the format of the workshop itself is maybe a bit unusual at first, but as soon as you get a feel of it, it makes more and more sense. What I really loved about it was our communication with the suppliers was not limited to the appointments per se, but could be continued during various networking activities – from breakfast to the evening receptions, thus even if the time of one-to-one appointments was limited, we still had plenty of chances to discuss topics of interest,” said Olesya Bezhina, business development director of Allegro Travel and 2011 EMITE buyer. “I can sincerely say that I am very proud to have been one of the participants of the first EMITE and I am sure that connections made at this event will generate fruitful and long-standing business relations.”

EMITE buyers represented pre-qualified, high-volume European MICE buyers. To view additional feedback from buyers, please view the event website.

“I found EMITE to be extremely productive and loved the intimate one-to-one appointments. There were a tremendous number of highly qualified European buyers in attendance that we would normally not have access to in multiple overseas trips,” said Leanne Romanchuk, director of group sales of Occidental Hotels & Resorts. “We came away with some fantastic leads and look forward to next year.”

EMITE suppliers represented global travel companies from all areas of travel, including, but not limited to: hotels and resorts, spas, destinations, tour operators, destination management companies and cruise lines.

Europe Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchange will return in the fall of 2012. European MICE buyers interested in participating in the 2012 event should contact Christina Belenky at 216.706.3731 or cbelenky@questex.com; suppliers should contact Danielle Cirami-Gillis at 212.895.8278 or dcirami@questex.com.

About Global Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchanges
Global Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchanges (GMITE), owned and managed by the Questex Travel Group, is comprised of invitation-only, appointment-based events catering exclusively to the MICE market. The successful formula consists of pre-arranged, one-to-one meetings connecting buyers and suppliers producing the most exclusive events in the world. GMITE includes the flagship Incentive Travel Exchange (ITE), in partnership with Site, created for North American incentive buyers placing business globally. It also includes sister events: Caribbean Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchange (CMITE) for North American meeting & incentive buyers placing business in the Caribbean and Europe Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchange (EMITE) for European MICE buyers placing business globally.

About Questex Hospitality + Travel
Questex Hospitality + Travel drives demand for travel and hospitality organizations as the largest multimedia organization in the world dedicated to these related industries. It includes a dynamic collection of strategic investment and deal-making forums as well as tactical services such as powerful lead generation tools, interactive online business solutions, world-class events and industry-leading publications to help hospitality and travel organizations drive revenue, productivity and value creation. In addition, the group serves global travel marketers through TravelAgentCentral.com, LuxuryTravelAdvisor.com, TravelAgentUniversity; an award-winning series of events serving the luxury travel and MICE markets such as  Luxury Travel Expo, Global Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchanges and CONFEC; and the leading luxury travel booking site, FiveStarAlliance.com; industry news delivery services in print and mobile worldwide via Travel Agent and Luxury Travel Advisor magazines.