CIBTM, which took place in Beijing, China, this week, welcomed a record number of international exhibitors and buyers.

The show, which is run by Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) and is in its sixth year, saw a 28 per cent increase in exhibitors to nearly 400, including international tourist boards Tourism Ireland, Tourism Australia and South African Tourism, among others.

The number of hosted buyers grew by 16 per cent on 2010 to 323, with 102 buyers from outside China.

During the show, RTE and Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development (BTD) signed a further three-year strategic partnership, running through to 2013. RTE committed to help BTD develop its meetings and events sector through participation at its other exhibitions; AIBTM in Baltimore, US; EIBTM in Barcelona, Spain; AIME in Melbourne, Australia and GIBTM in Abu Dhabi, Middle East. BTD will, in turn, assist RTE with the strategic development of CIBTM in the region.

Sun Weijia, vice chairman of BTD said: “The cooperation of RTE and BTD over the past few years has been excellent and surely will continue to grow so that both of us can benefit. We aim to help develop CIBTM to be the best in the region and in the future we are looking for it to be one of the most influential in the world.”

Richard Mortimore, managing director, RTE added: “The BTD are already participating in our portfolio of events and we hope that this will continue and strengthen through this ongoing strategic partnership. By working together to build CIBTM in China and helping Beijing expand its profile internationally, we expect the industry to benefit significantly.”

Pictured: Signing of the new strategic partnership at CIBTM