PROFESSIONAL EVENTS MEETING &INCENTIVE FORUMS A social and networking
programme complemented the business sessions
When the EICC and Scotland welcomed Europe: 8,900 meetings, 380 buyers, 295 suppliers, £500m worth of business
BY WILLIAM PEAKIN “B
uyers to the right! Suppliers to the left!” I’m on an escalator
at the Edinburgh International Confer-
ence Centre, heading down towards the Lennox Suite and wondering which way to turn. Straight ahead looks tempting, to the Champagne bar, but it is only 10am (though somewhere in the world it is five o’clock). Left it is then, to the suppliers. Te Lennox Suite boasts an innova-
tive moving floor that transforms the 1,600m2 space from flat-floor to auditorium, arena and tiered cabaret modes. Today it is flat, the space taken up with tables arranged in 18 lines that are 10 deep. It sounds regimented, but the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. During the mornings, over the
four days of the Meetings & Incen- tives Forum Europe, a total of 8,900 ‘speed’ appointments will be held at these tables. More than £500m worth of business will have been have been completed as a result of the connections made between
28 | EVENTSBASE | NOVEMBER 2015
venues represented here and the meeting and incentive organisers attending. Scottish companies taking part
included Gleneagles Hotel, Glasgow Science Centre, the Royal Yacht Bri- tannia, Crieff Hydro, Trump Turn- berry and VisitAberdeen. Delegates were accommodated at the George Hotel, the G&V Royal Mile Hotel, Radisson Blu, the Sheraton, and the Waldorf Astoria. Around three-quarters of the
buyers were representing event agencies. Te remainder were corporate event planners from
companies like Renault, Johnson & Johnson and Canon. Among the big-name suppliers from around the world were the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Hilton and Royal Carib- bean International. Held in July, it was a first for
Scotland and the first summer European Forum held by the brand’s owners, Worldwide Events. Previ- ous European venues have included Barcelona, Lisbon, Istanbul and Oslo. It was also the biggest M&I Forum taking place this year, with others being held in Dubai, the Philippines, Florida, Malta and Austria.
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