Late last year, Reed Exhibitions, which rebranded as RX in June, postponed its 2021 IBTM Americas show from May 19-20 to August 18-19, speculating that the world would have a better handle on the coronavirus later in the year. While controlling Covid has been more difficult than predicted and Covid-19’s Delta variant is causing new concerns, organizers of the meetings-industry educational event are moving ahead with next week’s in-person event at Centro Citibanamex in Mexico City.
With the theme “Humanizing Events,” the show expects approximately 2,000 attendees and 350 booths with several international destinations coming in as first-time exhibitors, including Spain, Argentina, and Korea. More than 7,000 appointments have already scheduled between buyers and sellers.
IBTM Americas plans to require attendees and exhibitors to wear face masks while in the venue, as well as enforce physical distancing, provide hand sanitizer stations, and mandate temperature checks before entering.
Another meetings industry event that forged ahead this summer despite the threat posed by increasing Covid infection numbers is the Corporate Event Marketing Association Summit in late July in Arizona. It required attendees to have proof of vaccination or take a rapid test on site but did not require masks. For attendees at the Cvent Connect user conference in early August in Las Vegas, masks were mandated by the state of Nevada.
The educational lineup at IBTM Americas will include tracks for special interest groups with programming focused on sustainable events, pharmaceutical meetings, event design, wedding planning, destination marketing, and destination management companies. In addition, Meeting Professionals International will hold its third MPI International Hispanic Forum during the event.
