MEET South West, the exhibition and conference showcase that will make its debut in January, has been boosted through a series of partnerships with key business organisations in the region.
Among those endorsing the inaugural event are Bristol Airport, GWR, film production company Floating Harbour and Swindon Business News.
MEET South West takes place on January 30 at We The Curious (formerly At-Bristol) and will be the first of its kind to provide a showcase for the region’s thriving meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) industry.
It will bring together professional buyers, planners, agencies, venues and suppliers from across the region.
As well as a curated exhibition, MEET South West will also feature industry-led workshops and presentations, networking opportunities and a drinks reception with entertainment – making it a must-attend event for all businesses involved in the region’s MICE sector
It is already being supported by the area’s key destination marketing organisations Destination Bristol, Visit Bath and VisitWiltshire and now can announce a raft of business partners.
With their coverage being an exact match of MEET South West’s footprint, Swindon Business News and its sister titles in Bristol and Bath are the right fit as the region’s media partner.
The websites will be providing a valuable platform for regional business news announcements in the run up to the event. MEET South West will also be sharing essential content with the national and international event and conference press.
Helping to capture the spirit of the event, Bristol-based Floating Harbour has joined as video production partner. With a huge wealth of experience using video for events, their clients include TEDxBristol, the United Nations Foundation, Wildscreen, the Global Parliament of Mayors and global brands.
The region’s two largest carriers, operating the largest rail network and the Europe’s best airport in its size, GWR and Bristol Airport have been confirmed as Travel Partners.
GWR will offer discounted travel to those travelling to Bristol for MEET South West on their network. Meet Bristol, the events arm of Destination Bristol, and Visit Bath are also working closely with MEET South West on a familiarisation trip which will take in both cities as well as a full day at the show meeting the exhibitors and the day’s full educational programme. This trip is targeting key event influencers and buyers from London and outside the South West with travel supported by GWR.
GWR regional marketing manager Chris Lund said: “GWR is excited to come onboard as official travel partner to the inaugural MEET South West event in 2019. GWR offers a wide range of flexible and discounted rail fares, including our great value conference fares with open return travel dates. We also offer our small-business and corporate account service, Business Direct, which allows travel buyers to manage all their GWR and UK train travel needs in one place.”
Sustainability is also an important area to address for trade shows and the events industry. With a fully sold-out exhibition, Colour Studios – providers of 100% end-of-life recyclable display products – has joined as display partner and will be integral in helping the team achieve their ambitious zero waste targets. The Radstock-based firm will be supplying all the central display elements and are also offering a package to meet exhibitors’ display needs.
The technical elements of the event will be fully supported by AV partner,Evans Audio Visual Staging, which has more than 30 years’ in the industry and experience delivering some of the South West’s most spectacular events.
MEET South West is being produced by a trio of local event professionals – Franco de la Croix-Vaubois, founder of the area’s Event Organisers Network (EON) and its Bath hub manager as well as being managing director of his own business Frog Events; Bristol-based Focal Point Event Management managing director Thomas Heiser; and Paola Davis, specialist corporate event manager and the EON-Bristol hub manager.
Paola said: “Partnerships are integral to the success of MEET South West and the companies we have partnered with fully understand our aims and the ethos for the show.
“We are absolutely delighted to welcome everyone on board to help us celebrate the thriving event industry we have in this region.”
Pictured, from left: Franco de la Croix-Vaubois, Thomas Heiser and Paola Davis. Photo by Jon Craig @JonCraig_Photos
