“In-person events offer a more immersive and engaging experience”: Pearce

The magic of meetings in person and events will always remain timeless. AIME has experienced remarkable growth since the challenges posed by COVID-19. Online meetings can offer convenience, but they often lack the serendipitous encounters and networking opportunities that spark innovation and unexpected collaborations at in-person events like AIME.

TDM interviews Matt Pearce, CEO, Talk2 Media & Events, who shares more on the successful completion of AIME 2025, application of AI in the events industry, importance of face-to-face meetings and MICE trends of Melbourne, Australia

Travel Daily Media (TDM): Summarise how AIME has evolved over the years, especially post Covid.

Matt Pearce (MP) AIME 2025 is now in its 32^nd year– a significant testament to the longevity and legacy of the show and its importance to the global business events industry. AIME has experienced remarkable growth since the challenges posed by COVID-19. AIME 2025 was the largest our team has delivered, with record-breaking numbers of exhibitors, hosted buyers, and attendees.

We continue to refine and enhance the show each year, to deliver an event that is of value to our exhibitors, buyers and visitors.  The team works year-round to create an event that truly is an outstanding, world-class “must-attend” business event in the Asia Pacific region.

We are proud that AIME was again awarded the Best Exhibition or Trade Show at the 2024 Australian Event Awards. It is the third year running AIME has received this prestigious award, which we believe cements AIME as the premier business event for the meetings and events industry in Asia Pacific.

TDM: How many exhibitors and buyers participated in AIME 2025? How many  business meetings took place during the event?

MP: At AIME 2025, 675 exhibitors from 30 countries and territories, including from every Australian state, Canada, China, Fiji, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Samoa, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.

Over 640 hosted buyers attended AIME – this is an 8% growth on AIME 2024. There were 170 international buyers and 470 domestic buyers.

Almost 20,000 meetings took place in total across the two days of the trade show.

TDM: Which new exhibitors participated this year? Which innovations and novel things did attendees’ witness?

MP: There were two new international pavilions, Singapore and Thailand. New zones first introduced in 2024 have been expanded for 2025.

Newly introduced zones in 2024 continued their growth, these included:

• 30+ exhibitors in The Boutique (venues and experiences)
• DMC Network (Destination Management Companies) – an increase of 250% from 2024
• 3x interactive Networking Zones for impromptu meetings

The tech zone and hotel zone space has increased in 2025 from 2024. We also partnered with An Eventful Life podcast, which recorded two live episodes on the show floor. 

TDM: What are the advantages/disadvantages of face-to-face meetings and networking in terms of business development, lead generation and conversions vis-à-vis online or video meetings?

MP: Face-to-face meetings foster deeper connections and trust, crucial for building strong business relationships and driving conversions. You can’t replicate the nuances of body language and spontaneous interaction with online platforms.

In-person events offer a more immersive and engaging experience, allowing attendees to fully experience products and services firsthand, leading to higher quality leads.

Online meetings can offer convenience, but they often lack the serendipitous encounters and networking opportunities that spark innovation and unexpected collaborations at in-person events like AIME. Those chance meetings in the hallway can sometimes lead to the best business outcomes. 

TDM: How is AI impacting the MICE industry? How have you leveraged the same to make a better AIME 2025?

MP: Technology will continue to revolutionise the attendee experience, with personalised event journeys, immersive technologies like AR and VR, and AI-powered matchmaking tools becoming increasingly prevalent.

AIME has been a pioneer in using AI to enhance the event experience, and our AI-powered meeting matching is a prime example. We’ve partnered with Grip that uses sophisticated algorithms to analyse attendee profiles, preferences and goals, which allows us to pre-schedule highly targeted meetings between buyers and exhibitors, maximising their time and ensuring they connect with the most suitable partners. This technology has been incredibly successful, contributing to millions of dollars in business generated at previous events. We’re committed to refining and expanding our AI capabilities to further enhance the AIME experience and drive success for our attendees.

We will see a continued shift towards hyper-personalisation, with data-driven insights enabling us to tailor content, networking opportunities, and even the overall event environment to individual preferences.

TDM: Kindly share your vision of Australia as a tourist destination. How has it evolved for MICE, especially post Covid? How do you see it becoming an agent for economic development?

MP: Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) the owners of AIME released the Positive Impact of Business Events report at AIME, which found the economic benefit of events secured by MCB over the past 10 years of $2.34 billion.

Business events delivered 610,000 delegates to Melbourne and booked 1.3 million room nights. In depth information about the positive impact of events in Melbourne, Australia is available here.