Reed Travel Exhibitions did not file tender to manage the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME) in Melbourne as the current contract with owners Melbourne Convention Bureau ends in 2018.
Reed Travel Exhibitions has managed the two-day show as part of its ibtm events portfolio for over a decade.
Last year’s event left organisers scrambling to crisis manage a situation involving a major coach crash with hosted buyers on board.
A statement from new ibtm events portfolio director Kerry Prince, who recently took over following the departure of Sallie Coventry, said RTE had decided not to tender for the management contract to organise AIME after 2018.
“The decision will allow us to focus on our core portfolio of owned shows, which includes our flagship ibtm world event, held in Barcelona, our two innovative ‘pod’ shows, ibtm arabia and ibtm america, as well as ibtm china and ibtm latin america,” said Prince.
Head of MCB Karen Bolinger said there had been several expressions of interest from event planners to undertake the management and operation of AIME moving forward.
“This is a process that we undertake at the end of every agreement term, which is three years in the case of AIME. We have had the pleasure of working with Reed Exhibitions on the delivery of AIME for over a decade, and commend the team on the development of yet another tremendous show for 2017,” Bolinger said.
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