Press Releases

PCMA and CIC CO-LOCATE Events at AIBTM

 Decision a ‘testament to the importance both organizations place on AIBTM and America Meetings Week’

With one year to go until AIBTM opens its doors to the US and international meetings industry, two of the US’s most influential organizations – Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and Convention Industry Council (CIC) - have confirmed the co-location of two major events at the show in Baltimore June 21 – 23 2011.

AIBTM, together with America Meetings Week, is set to be the most important event in the US meetings event calendar in 2011, attracting around 3,000 meeting planners as well 300 industry exhibiting companies.

Announced yesterday at PCMA’s Education Conference in Montreal, Deborah Sexton, PCMA President and CEO confirmed that PCMA, representing more than 6,100 meeting industry leaders from 16 chapters in the United States and Canada, will be holding their bi annual education conference at AIBTM.

The conference will provide industry professionals with the opportunity to learn new strategies, discover innovative solutions, share best practices, hear inspiring speakers and attend networking sessions.

Commenting on the co-location, Deborah Sexton, said: “We already work very closely with Reed Travel Exhibitions’ international portfolio of shows on their educational programmes, so this link up is a natural and welcome fit.  Additionally, June 2011 provides the ideal timing for the Association and its members, as does the location in Baltimore. Our members will not only benefit from our conference but from doing business with leading US and international suppliers at AIBTM. It is a win win situation.”

AIBTM and America Meetings Week is also set to host CIC’s 2011 Hall of Leaders Gala held in conjunction with the PCMA conference.  The Gala evening attracts a Who’s Who of the meetings and convention industry and honours the industry’s outstanding leaders and innovators. 

Nominations are submitted either by CIC member organizations or the general industry community. A selection committee appointed by the CIC chooses the inductees.

Commenting on the announcement CIC’s Chief Executive Officer Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP said, "I am so pleased that CIC will be holding its 2011 Hall of Leaders Gala in conjunction with AIBTM in Baltimore next June.

“Both Reed Travel Exhibitions and Visit Baltimore will be excellent partners in this prestigious event. The Reed family of shows has a history of bringing together leaders from the global meetings, association and travel industry, and therefore we expect our attendance at the dinner to far exceed the record we set this year.”

Craig Moyes, Reed Travel Exhibitions’ Group Exhibition Director, Meetings and Events Portfolio said: “The decisions by both PCMA and CIC to co-locate their bi annual conference and Gala evening is a testament to the importance both organizations place on AIBTM and America Meetings Week.

“The Week gives the industry an opportunity not only to shout about the value of meetings to the US economy but for buyers and planners to develop their businesses and gain industry knowledge that will impact directly on their corporate and personal development.”

Amy Calvert, Vice President of Convention Sales and Services at Visit Baltimore added: “We are thrilled that AIBTM and Reed are offering this dynamic opportunity for the meetings industry to gain strategic insights from the top notch education during America’s Meetings Week.”

AIBTM’s Hosted Buyer Program offers a highly effective way for buyers, meeting planners and decision makers to meet exhibitors through an online pre scheduled appointment system. This guarantees that buyers meet exhibitors that they are particularly interested in doing business with.

To register your interest in becoming a Hosted Buyer, or for further information on AIBTM, logon to www.aibtm.com. Official Hosted Buyer registration will go live on January 11 2011.

Ends

Notes to Editors

1. AIBTM forms part of the RTE portfolio of Global Meetings and Incentives Events along with AIME (www.aime.com.au ), EIBTM (www.eibtm.com), GIBTM (www.gibtm.com) and CIBTM (www.cibtm.com). 
AIBTM (www.cibtm.com) is the annual Americas meetings and incentive exhibition held in Baltimore, USA.
 
2. Reed Travel Exhibitions organise 12 events worldwide, including World Travel Market, Arabian Travel Market, European Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition (EIBTM), Americas Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition (AIBTM), China Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition (CIBTM), Gulf Incentive Business Travel & Meetings (GIBTM), Asia Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME), International Golf Travel Market, International French Travel Market - Top Resa, International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), La Cumbre and Asia Luxury Travel Market (ALTM).

 3. For further press information, please visit the Reed Travel Exhibitions’ website on www.reedtravelexhibitions.com. 
 
4. Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 440 events in 36 countries. In 2009 Reed brought together over six million active event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organised by 35 fully staffed offices.
 
5. Reed organises a wide range of events, including trade and consumer exhibitions, conferences and meetings. Its portfolio of over 440 events serves 44 industry sectors, including:
Aerospace & aviation, automobiles, beauty & cosmetics, broadcasting, building & construction, electronics, energy, oil & gas, engineering & manufacturing, food service & hospitality, gifts, healthcare, interior design, IT & telecoms, jewellery, life science & pharmaceuticals, machinery, marketing, business services & training, medical education, printing & graphics, security & safety, sports & recreation, travel.
 
6. Working closely with professional bodies, trade associations and government departments Reed ensures that each and every event is targeted and relevant to industry needs. As a result, many Reed events are market leaders in their field.
 
7. Reed Exhibitions is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a FTSE-100 company and world-leading publisher and information provider. In 2009, Reed Elsevier made an adjusted profit before taxation of £1,279 million on turnover of £6,071 million.

 

About PCMA
The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) is the professional resource and premier educator for the meetings and convention industry. Founded in 1957, PCMA represents the interests of meeting management executives from associations, non-profit organizations, corporations, independent meeting planning companies, and multi-management firms who recognize the importance of meetings to their organization. PCMA empowers members with the tools they need to succeed as meeting professionals and to promote the value of the industry to their organizations and the general public. Headquartered in Chicago, PCMA has 16 chapters throughout the United States and Canada.  For additional information, please visit the PCMA Web site at www.pcma.org.

The role of the PCMA Education Foundation is to support the mission of the PCMA through fundraising and grant giving focused on education and research that will benefit the meetings and conventions industry. Established in 1985, the Foundation supports educational programs to improve professionalism in the meetings industry and to provide a university-level meeting management curriculum. The Foundation funds educational programs for meeting managers, hotels, convention and visitors bureaus, and other members of the meetings industry. It also conducts ongoing research of industry issues and concerns. The Foundation continually funds new programs to encourage the highest levels of professionalism in the meetings industry.

About CIC
The Convention Industry Council’s 32 member organizations represent more than 103,500 individuals and 19,500 firms and properties involved in the meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry. CIC facilitates the exchange of information develops programs to promote professionalism within the industry and educates the public on its profound economic impact. CIC’s programs include the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) program, the Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) initiative, the Hall of Leaders and numerous industry resource projects.