From 18-20 October, the Seville Exhibition and Congress Centre participated in the world’s largest MICE show with the aim of gaining a foothold in the American market.
The Seville Exhibition and Congress Centre (FIBES) attended the show for the first time as a convention venue, since in previous occasions the city of Seville has indeed exhibited as a destination at past editions of the event. The venue’s participation was organized by the Seville Tourist Consortium and FIBES, with the Sevilla Congress & Convention Bureau (SCCB) and the hotel chains Melia and NH also forming part of the trade mission.
From 18-20 October, Las Vegas hosted IMEX America, the world’s most important MICE show. FIBES was keen to participate since Seville has hosted a number of events related to the American market this year: an event organized by the Consortium Travel Group, an important consortium of American travel agencies, at the Hotel Barcelo in May; and the ASTA Destination Expo, an event for American tour operators and travel agencies held at FIBES in June. Nonetheless, after theses successful events, FIBES considered that the association meeting and MICE markets were underrepresented, so the decision was made to attend IMEX America.
The potential growth of the city of Seville on the world stage is clear to all at FIBES, with its new convention centre as a driver of this growth in the association meeting and MICE markets.
So, during its three-day trade mission in Las Vegas, FIBES held a number of meetings with American buyers representing both the congress and MICE industries, making over 30 very interesting contacts. Moreover, the representatives of FIBES organized a working breakfast with a select group of clients and attended an event organized by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) on 17 October.
To help with logistics, FIBES engaged the services of a consultant specializing in the complex market, which organized the working breakfast and collaborated actively in setting up meetings.
Both FIBES and the city of Seville are aware of the hard work that still has to be done in this industry in the US, although its main scope of action is still Europe. However, it is important to be ambitious and acknowledge the tremendous potential that the city has in the American market, since the destination is always very well received in the US.
FIBES forms part of trade mission at IMEX America-Las Vegas
