For many years Meet the Bidder events have been enjoying growing popularity, trust and attendance, proving that - even in the era of ubiquitous Internet - nothing can replace the most important thing - the direct contact between contractors.
Twelve years ago, our company began a series of B2B meetings named Meet The Bidder and dedicated to the narrow scope of incentive travel. Our ambition was to actively participate in the development of the industry in Poland, and the aim of the workshops we organized was to facilitate and improve the work of Polish event organizers. The idea turned out to be a great challenge, as for years Polish agencies made a habit out of attending only large foreign trade fairs. This time - as part of the Meet The Bidder Smart Fairs, Travel Bidder decided to bring foreign contractors to the domestic market.
Later, the Meet The Bidder name received the “SMART Fairs” moniker, which perfectly defines the purpose and character of the event, which is: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.
Meet The Bidder events are held since 2012 three times a year - in March, June and November. So far, Meet The Bidder events have been attended by around 900 exhibitors from all over the world and nearly a thousand managers and incentive travel professionals.
When Travel Bidder started organizing business meetings a few years ago, barely a few of the multitude of foreign MICE companies were able to notice the huge potential of the Polish market. It was difficult to convince them that Poland is a country of fast growing business opportunities, as well as a market with numerous professional agencies specializing in incentive travel.
Our company started by making sure that its customers are aware of the uniqueness, size and condition of the Polish market. We presented basic, publicly available statistics about this 40-million country, regularly updating the data, which looked more and more favourable every year. We have always firmly emphasized the professional nature of the Polish MICE market.
Polish market is perfectly organized, as evidenced by numerous initiatives taking place here, including B2B meetings, trainings and various workshops. Polish event organizers are keenly interested in the new Act on Tourist Services, they join professional associations, follow global trends, conduct market research and love novelties. Polish universities offer courses aimed at educating future MICE specialists. New associations mushroom across the country. Everyone plays for one team.
Polish organizers are sending more and more groups abroad, they travel all over the world and their potential contractors seek the best ways to reach them and get their attention. The results of the international SITE Index 2018 Results and Findings survey confirm how successful such events can be. For more than half of the organizers (51 percent), B2B meetings are crucial when selecting destinations and business they want to collaborate with. In addition to trade fairs, Meet the Bidder events also include study tours organised for the industry professionals. This way, they can see for themselves how the attractions discussed at the MTB table can be used in the final programmes.
The fairs are dedicated to all Polish incentive travel organisers, including those specializing in luxury trips. Every year, they attract a significant number of foreign exhibitors, including representatives of hotels and DMC companies specializing in planning business travels in their countries. Other attendees include airlines, convention bureaux, regional promotion offices, as well as numerous other MICE service providers seeking collaboration with their Polish counterparts.
Our fairs are also increasingly popular with event organizers from other markets who purchase these services. As a result, Meet the Bidder has decided to create the Hosted Bidders programme, attended by selected agencies from outside Warsaw, as well as agencies and PCOs from other markets, such as Great Britain, France, Spain, Russia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
The evolution of Meet the Bidder project during the latest years of its development is a true reflection of how fast the Polish incentive market has developed in the recent years. Such high appeal of Poland-based event shows clearly how rapidly the Polish market has been evolving within the last seven years.
But Meet the Bidder is more than just a B2B meeting. For years, the company has been trying to diversify the formula of the events, giving our partners the best possible exposure, establishing their position on the market by i.e. introducing additional elements of the programme - starting from games, through inspirational presentations of certain destinations, educational sessions, and industry debates, as well as joint sightseeing tours of Warsaw and banquets combined with networking and presentation of market novelties. Another important part of the programme is the so-called exhibitors' briefing, aimed at introducing foreign bidders to the specifics of cooperation with the Polish MICE industry.
Meet The Bidder is open to collaboration with various organizations, associations, promotion bureaux, industry media and personalities eager to build the Polish MICE industry.
Along with our local partners, we also promote Warsaw among foreign guests, presenting it as a perfect place for business and an attractive, constantly developing European city, ideal for organizing international events.
We do our best to make sure that Meet The Bidder events motivate, boost performance, build lasting relationships and the awareness of belonging to one of the most innovative and fastest growing MICE markets in Europe.
office@travel-bidder.com
Tel: +48 22 378-10-85
Privacy policy
KRS: 0000332987 | NIP: 7010190885 | RG: 141942371
