BUSINESS TOURISM DIARY My five days at IMEX Frankfurt


Kate Galloway, Managing Director of K&N Travel Associates Ltd, travelled to the ‘one-stop-shop’ for meetings, events and incentive travel planners in April. Here’s her round-up of all the action.


n MONDAY, APRIL 18


Fly out of Edinburgh Airport with Lufthansa and catch up with all the recent news on the flight with colleagues from Convention Ed- inburgh, EICC, VisitScotland, and Principal Hayley hotels. On arrival in Frankfurt we head


to the Citadines aparthotel - which is centrally located, close to Te Messe - and handily opposite the shopping mall for later in the week! VisitScotland are hosting evening


drinks at Te Movenpick for the stand partners – and many familiar faces are there, plus some new ones. We are all impressed to see the


distinctive blue bottle of Hendricks gin (Ayrshire) behind the bar but there’s only time for one G&T, as Gillian McNeilly (Turnberry) and I get a taxi to our evening networking venue downtown. SITE night is at the impressive


Kameha suite in the city centre, lo- cated in a central atrium and dome with marble staircases each side, and more than 400 attendees gather at buffet stations and bars over two floors. I have known some people there


for over 25 years, and I’m always happy to introduce their friends and colleagues. Back to the hotel at 11pm to pre- pare for kick-off the next day.


n TUESDAY Up early to check emails before the stand briefing given by Amanda Ferguson at VisitScotland. Amanda, Emma, Rory and Mihri will be hosting buyer groups on the stand at different assigned times during the three days, with opportunities for all of us. Our booth is small yet compact, complete with a screen showing a


carousel of images from our events. At 10am the show is underway


and the appointments and presen- tations start. I’m joined by Marie, my German colleague who has been staying with relatives and travels in by train. She does all the German appointments but it is necessary to have two of us on the stand to en- able five-minute café or loo breaks once in a while! Apart from the ap- pointments, clients also show up on spec asking for us and we need to do some juggling to fit them in. Te VisitScotland stand is busy


and especially at lunch time when a group of hosted buyers from the Association market come along to hear from the Convention Bureau, EICC and SECC. We have a packed appointment


schedule with clients from across the globe who have requested to see us – many with specific itineraries and requests. No time to stop for lunch but


there are some canapés available on the stand. We are tweeting as much as pos-


sible – client meetings, and photo opps with other stand partners. End of round one – back to the hotel and an early dinner, then


catch up on work emails for two hours before bed.


n WEDNESDAY Up and out of the hotel by 7am to go to a breakfast meeting at Te Intercontinental. I met eight hosted buyers, arranged by our sales repre- sentative. Tis is a good opportunity to get our message across to a small captive audience and a great chance to network with other global DMCs and discuss best practices. Back to the stand – and a packed


day of appointments with hosted buyers. In the afternoon, VisitScotland’s


on-stand party celebrates the Year of Innovation, Architecture and De- sign, with Great Scottish Inventions as the theme. In order to complete their ‘Pass-


port’, which gives them access to the whisky tasting in the centre of the stand, hosted by Gosford, each buyer has to visit four partners on the stand. We had Edinburgh Gin, to represent ‘innovation’ and our bottle was popular with many buyers com- ing to try it and get their passport signed! An ideal opportunity for a quick chat about them too. After the show ends, the party


vibe continues in a local noodle restaurant with stand partners, swapping stories about their day.


n THURSDAY Another early start! Breakfast this time with a US


buyer who has a confirmed group with us to visit Scotland next year – a chance to review the itinerary and catch up with their news. Appointments are less manic


today as some buyers have already moved their times to earlier slots with us and the show starts to quieten down. One of our clients of 20 years


stops by to say hello and there is time for a relaxed beer at the bar – I feel like I’ve earned it! I have dinner with Gleneagles, Te Sheraton and Turnberry in an ‘authentic’ Frankfurt wine cellar, famous for its bratwurst, of course.


n FRIDAY As I wait for the flight home, the follow-up starts! I have some time to prioritise the many leads from their different sources and reflect that it has been a very busy but worthwhile week.


EVENTSBASE | SUMMER 2016 | 27


Kate Galloway was among the VisitScotland partners at the IMEX Frankfurt event in April


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