Commenting on the 2012 show, Ray Bloom, Chairman, IMEX said: "Over the last 10 years, we have managed to build and develop the show in fresh and exciting ways that have delivered new business, new education and important new industry-change initiatives. Next year will inevitably be a time to look back, take stock and celebrate how far we have come. But, it is equally if not more important to concentrate on delivering on our key business objectives, listening and responding to new market needs and, of course, taking our usual forthright, proactive stance on the big industry issues."

The changes to the annual Association Day will allow for greater choice in the education and networking programme and will take more account of the differing levels of seniority and experience amongst the attending hosted buyers. The association evening, taking place at the Westin Hotel, will welcome 900 buyers and suppliers for an evening of networking before the doors to the trade show open.

The IMEX New Vision programme is being restructured and renamed ‘Visionary IMEX', and will bring all of the show's industry-change initiatives into a single, cohesive brand, also allowing them to be seamlessly integrated into IMEX America. Under Visionary IMEX is the biennial IMEX Challenge, the second of which will take place in 2012. In keeping with the IMEX Challenge goals of both helping children and leaving a sustainable legacy for their care, 15 volunteers will join staff and patients of the CUDV Training, Occupation and Care Centre in Draga, Slovenia from July 2 to 4, 2012 to construct a bee colony from scratch. Once built, it will provide skills training opportunities and a valuable income for the care centre.

Also under the Visionary IMEX banner will be a new Executive Meeting Forum, which will bring C-level corporate meeting directors and procurement managers to the Frankfurt show. This will add a new dimension to the hosted buyer programme and promises a strong focus on European business issues. It will be facilitated by Terri Breining and Kimberly Meyer, two well-known industry experts, who led a similar forum at IMEX America.

Last year's edition of the education programme gave visitors a choice of more than 90 different sessions. In the tenth edition, two new tracks, which will clearly separate meetings from events education, will be introduced to make seminar selection easier. Small, informal ‘campfires' are also being introduced on the Sustainability Centre and the TechTap to give visitors quick introductions to these increasingly important professional development topics. Each campfire will be led by an industry expert and repeated regularly throughout the trade show. Findings from the ‘Power of 10' research study, being conducted by Fastfuture Research and sponsored by the German Convention Bureau, Frankfurt Tourist Office, CPO Hanser and Messe Frankfurt, will also be presented.

The 2012 show will also be the testing ground for new ways to give the hosted buyers more control over the emails and invitations they receive in the run-up to and during the trade show. The proposed new system will have a unique IMEX inbox which will aggregate all exhibitor messages into a single daily email alert. The system will be tested among buyer groups for the 2012 show, with the aim of rolling it out in 2013. Other enhancements will also be made to the online appointment system to give buyers and visitors increased visibility and online functionality.

Commenting on these enhancements, Christopher Perrins, Group Director of Online Services, IMEX said: "We have a continuous improvement approach to all our online services and we take user feedback seriously. As with many businesses, email volumes have risen dramatically in recent years and our proposed approach to appointment requests and email alerts will allow exhibitors to communicate with buyers in a way that should ensure more manageability and convenience for both parties." The IMEX team will also be introducing the IMEX App for Android users, as well as making improvements to the App's interface to enhance speed and usability on the move.

The continued expansion of the hosted buyer programme will also be a key feature of the show. More hosted buyers are set to attend from both central European countries as well as the US, Brazil and Asia. Hyatt Hotels will be bringing their clients to the show for the first time, alongside a host of new US intermediaries, who have been attracted to the show by the success of the inaugural edition in America in October.

Exhibitor demand for the 2012 show has also been strong, with all the major central, northern and southern European destinations being confirmed, including the German Convention Bureau and its anticipated 200 German exhibiting partners. Eastern European destinations will continue their strong participation and investment in the sector. Middle East and Latin American representation will be robust, with all the major destinations being strongly represented. Exhibitor participation from the US, Asia and the Caribbean is expected to be larger than ever before. The hotel sector is also set to grow with space increases already having been confirmed by Fairmont, Raffles, Swissotel and Kempinksi. Over 50 hotel groups exhibit at the exhibition with the majority taking part in the hosted buyer programme.

A series of marketing campaigns is also being planned to encourage German visitors from allied industry sectors to attend, as well as more meetings, events and incentive travel planners from the German-speaking countries. Several new initiatives are also planned to enhance the visitor experience including a series of exhibition guides to assist buyers in personalising their experience.