EIBTM, the Global Meetings and Events Exhibition, recently announced that 42 new destinations, destination management companies, and venues, have booked exhibit space at the 2011 EIBTM show November 29–December 1 at the Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain.

Among the first-time exhibitors are American Express; the Georgian National Tourism Agency, from Tblisi, Georgia; the Riga Tourism Development Bureau, from Riga, Latvia; and ATAHotels, with 21 hotels in Italy.

Other first-timers include 19 new technology companies in The EIBTM Technology Village—an area of the show that has grown by 25 percent over the past four years. EIBTM’s Technology Hour returns this year every day in the Lecture Theatre on the show floor, and topics range from social media to mobile technology to tablets. EIBTM has launched its first event app, which will enable participants to get information about the event, plan their attendance, and continue the interaction after the show, on their smartphones or tablets.

And, after receiving a record-breaking 56 entries, EIBTM has just announced the winner of its Technology Watch contest—ITN International, a U.S.–based company that has created what EIBTM calls “the ultimate delegate pass.” The award recognizes technological innovation in the meetings and events industry.

ITN’s Citywide Attendee Credential is a badge that doubles as a free pass to public transit and tourist attractions throughout a host city. ITN International will present this winning product during EIBTM’s Future Events Experience on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. followed by a networking reception.

“Our citywide badge performs a double duty, enabling a destination management organization to grant attendees access to its city’s infrastructure and attractions, while enabling an organizer to meet its needs for attendee tracking, access control ,and exhibitor lead retrieval,” says Ivan Lazarev, president and CEO, ITN International. “The ‘seamless’ experience that the credential gives attendees means DMOs can at long last co-brand their cities and the events they host effectively.”

The judging panel was chaired by Corbin Ball, CEO, Corbin Ball Associates, and included Michelle Bruno, CMP, CEM, president, Bruno Group Signature Events; Martin Sirk, CEO, ICCA; Bruce MacMillan, president and CEO, Meeting Professionals International; Paul Hussey, business development director, BSI Meetings and Events; Samuel J. Smith, technology consultant and editor, Interactive Meeting Technology Blog; and Ruud Janssen, managing director, The New Objective Collective.

The panel also recognized four finalists:

  • Wifarer, which has refined existing Wi-Fi systems within a venue to pinpoint a smartphone’s location to an accuracy of 1.3 meters. This “indoor positioning system” can provide precise way-finding for attendees though a meeting venue or exhibit hall, while providing location-aware content delivery and aggregated attendee movement analytics.
  • GenieMobile provides a high-quality, do-it-yourself, mobile-app development tool for events. The menu of application choices is robust and they are delivered as native apps to iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and WindowsPhone, and as a mobile Web site. The DIY model offers a lower price point than commonly found in these products as well as unprecedented control of the app content.
  • Active Network, Events points to the increasing power of tablet computers at events. The comprehensive suite of mobile and tablet applications gives the event organizer real-time access to registration data, lead retrieval, social networking, exhibitor management, session tracking and scheduling, event mobile app usage, housing, financial statements, speaker resources, and content management on an iPad and other mobile devices.
  • Triqle Event Intelligence, whose "What's On?" is a simple and inexpensive idea: Publish real-time event program data to any device with an Internet connection, allowing attendees to see at a glance what is going on now and next.
Graeme Barnett, Reed Travel Exhibitions event director for EIBTM, says the show will see more than 3,800 hosted buyers attend this year. View the full schedule of speakers and events at the Future Events Experience and Technology Hour sessions at the EIBTM Web site.

EIBTM forms part of the RTE portfolio of Global Meetings and Incentives Events along with Asia Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo, Gulf Incentive Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition, China Incentive Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition, and Americas Meetings & Events Exhibition.