Over three days AIME 2025 hosted more than 640 buyers from around the world, welcomed more than 4500 attendees and 675 exhibitors from various business events sectors from around Asia Pacific and the world.

Held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), the exhibition saw an increase of 100 exhibiting companies from AIME 2024, along with two new international pavilions, Singapore and Thailand, joining 33 countries and territories represented at the event.

There were 170 hosted international buyers from New Zealand, Europe, UK, South-East Asia, North Asia, India, South America, USA, and Canada and more than 470 domestic buyers - with 3 in 4 hosted buyers attending AIME for the first time.

This builds on the exceptional growth of 2024 - where more than $330 million of business was forecast to be traded between exhibitors and buyers in the 12 months following  - and cements AIME as the leading event for the international business events community in the Asia Pacific region.

The event is owned by Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) and managed by Talk2 Media & Events and this will be the fourth show delivered by AIME Event Director Silke Calder and her team. 

Nearly 20,000 meetings took place across AIME - including more than 15,000 meetings pre-scheduled between highly vetted buyers and matched exhibitors - the expanded show floor was the place where the business events world met in Asia Pacific to do business.

The official press conference which launched AIME 2025 on Monday 10 February, featured Matt Pearce, CEO Talk2 Media & Events; Julia Swanson, CEO, Melbourne Convention Bureau; and Phillipa Harrison, Managing Director Tourism Australia.

Talk2 Media & Events CEO Matt Pearce announced that AIME 2025 was the largest show the team has produced, building upon AIME 2024 that was the largest AIME in a decade. There were 100 more exhibitors than last year as well as the largest contingent from New Zealand to ever attend AIME.

Pearce also announced the Knowledge Program has experienced five-fold growth over the past years - from a program with just a few hundred participants pre-COVID to more than 1500 people at AIME 2025.

MCB CEO Julia Swanson launched Melbourne Convention Bureau’s ‘The Positive Impact of Business Events Report’, which highlights the immense value that business events deliver to Victoria. The report features case studies from business events in Melbourne over the past decade, demonstrating the many ways in which these events have contributed to the Victorian economy as well as having far reaching impacts in terms of technological advancements, community involvement and lasting legacies of change.

AIME’s Knowledge Program is the launchpad for the global events industry to come together for learning and development. More than 1500 people attended the Knowledge Program sessions held on day 1 of AIME. AIME’s 2025 Knowledge Program was themed “We Matter!” and focused on the global business events industry as a powerful driver of economic growth. Two keynote speakers opened the day: former Chief Technology Officer of Lonely Planet Gus Balbontin (brought to you by ICMI) and neuro-performance scientist and best-selling author Dr Kristy Goodwin (brought to you by Ovations! Speaker Bureau). The Knowledge Program featured a new panel discussion, Global Insights and Business Outlook for 2025, featuring Carina Bauer, Chief Executive Officer - IMEX Group; Senthil Gopinath, Chief Executive Officer - International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA); Tim Groot, Chief Executive Officer and Founder – Grip; and Sven Bossu, Chief Executive Officer at AIPC. Curated by El Kwang and BEAMexperience with the support of an Advisory Committee consisting of eight industry leaders from the APAC region, the Knowledge Program continued with 20 breakout sessions with topics that ranged from nurturing emerging talent and harnessing AI to safeguarding creativity and understanding the impact of consumer experience on event outcomes.

Concluding AIME’s first day, the eagerly anticipated Welcome Event was held at il Mercato Centrale in Melbourne’s city centre. Themed the AIMalfi FESTA, more than 2000 people will experience the interactive Italian artisan food market that’s been transformed into the Amalfi Coast exclusively for the AIME Welcome Event.

The AIME trade exhibition took place on Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 February, with extended opening hours to allow hosted buyers and visitors more time to meet with exhibitors. 

The International Association of Convention Centres held AIPC @ AIME 2025, a half-day summit for convention and exhibition centre executives, at MCEC on the final day of AIME, Wed 12 February. 

The AIME Leaders Forum hosted by the Australian Business Events Association also took place on the morning following AIME, Thursday 13 February.

In 2025, for the first time the global exhibitions association UFI co-located its 2025 Asia-Pacific Conference in Melbourne, holding it at MCEC following AIME on 13-14 February.

The next edition of AIME will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Monday 9 - Wednesday 11 February 2026.