(Atlanta - April 18, 2007) The International Association for Exhibitions and Events (IAEE, formerly IAEM ) announced the selection of Atlanta as the host city for the 2009 Expo! Expo!  IAEE's  Annual Meeting & Exhibition during the Southeastern Chapter IAEE luncheon this week.

“Atlanta knows how to host a great event,” said Steven Hacker, president of IAEE, who was in town from Dallas to update the group on trends in the exhibition industry. “We're excited to be returning to Atlanta in 2009," he told the group of hospitality professionals.

Exhibition and event managers from around the globe gather with suppliers in the exhibition industry at Expo! Expo!, which is open to members and non-members wanting to increase their knowledge of the industry, network with their peers, and learn of the vast new products, services and options available to help make their  exhibitions and events  one to remember.  Expo! Expo!  provides relevant educational sessions designed for exhibition  and event professionals of varying levels and needs, allowing participants to assess skills while acquiring new ones.

The event was last held in Atlanta in 2005 and was one of the first national conferences to enjoy a reception inside the world’s largest aquarium, the Georgia Aquarium, just days after the new Atlanta attraction opened. When the show returns, it will see new attractions and growth in downtown Atlanta, including the new World of Coca-Cola, incredible retail and restaurant growth in the convention district and site of the new Center for Civil and Human Rights, which is slated for a mid-2008 groundbreaking next to Centennial Olympic Park.

“It was a pleasure to host the event in 2005 and we are pleased they are returning in 2009 to see how Atlanta’s downtown continues to grow and provide the perfect location for tradeshows, conventions and conferences” said Mark Zimmerman, general manager of the Georgia World Congress Center.

“The attendees of Expo! Expo! are key players in the meetings and convention industry,” said Spurgeon Richardson, president of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau.  “We’re looking forward to showing off the new Atlanta and hope the attendees will ultimately bring their business to our city.”

 

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