Barcelona.IBTM World has revealed a surge in interest from new exhibitors, with over double the number of first-time exhibitors due to attend its event in Barcelona, compared to 2018.

Of the 2,601 total exhibitors attending the event this year, over 35 have never attended before. Countries represented for the first time this year include Mallorca, Greece, Azerbaijan, Macau, South Korea, and Croatia. New exhibitors this year include The Hoxton, Israel Ministry of Tourism, The Gleneagles Hotel, Renfe, Goyang Convention and Visitors Bureau, Maison Albar Hotels, Silver Tours, Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau, GatherNext, Travel Ray Software, Guidebook UK Ltd, bnetwork and Virtway Events.

Gothenburg (Goteborg & Co) will exhibit independently for the first time this year, having previously participated as part of the Swedish stand. Gothenburg will be attending the show with partners including The Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre with Gothia Towers, Nordic Choice Hotels Gothenburg, Abymassan Conference and Exhibition Centre, and Elite Hotels of Sweden.

Annika Hallman, Director at Gothenburg Convention Bureau said: “There has been a growing interest in Scandinavia in recent years, as word spreads of our world-class meeting venues, top-notch hospitality, accessibility and first-class environmental credentials (Gothenburg was voted the most sustainable meeting destination in the world according to the Global Destination Sustainability Index 2016, 2017 and 2018). We have hosted a number of successful meetings recently and we are excited to be part of IBTM World this year as an exhibitor in our own right, to tell the story of our beautiful city to thousands of international meetings planners.”

Returning exhibitors include: Tourism Australia, Guatemala Convention Bureau, Seychelles Tourism Board, Tourism Promotions Board Philippines, Panama, Visit Denmark, Great Hotels of the World and Atout France. This year France will be attending under one, larger, umbrella stand.

David Thompson, Event Director, IBTM World, said: “We are delighted that so many new exhibitors have chosen to attend IBTM World this year. This is fantastic for the growth of our industry, and great news for our Hosted Buyers and visitors, as it offers them an incredibly broad and diverse range of exhibitors to do business with. In addition to the new exhibitors, we look forward to welcoming back our many established exhibitors for what is set to be an action-packed and rewarding few days.”