Visitors to IMEX will not be lost for intriguing new destination ideas this year following the announcement of the winners for its sought-after Wild Card Scheme 2006.

Four brand new destinations to the global meetings and incentive travel market will now receive a free exhibition stand at the worldwide incentive travel, meetings and events exhibition when it opens on May 30^th in Messe Frankfurt’s Hall 8.

The winners are: Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay; the Ardenne Bleue region of Belgium; Georgia (Eastern Europe) and Libya in North Africa.

Each will also benefit from a free year-round marketing support package in addition to their place inside the dedicated IMEX Wild Card Pavilion. This will provide them with their first ever opportunity to present their offering to an audience of high-powered international buyers.

To qualify for a winning place, entrants had to prove the strength of their ambition and justify their potential as a brand new business tourism destination. None were permitted to have exhibited before at a major meetings or incentive travel trade fair.

They also had to demonstrate that they had the commitment and the capacity to handle new business and that their destination had the infrastructure to support the particular demands of the business tourism market.

Each Wild Card destination also receives 50% discounted air fares, two complimentary hotel rooms for three nights in Frankfurt, plus free tickets to the IMEX Gala Dinner.

Two million mainly eastern visitors already visit Georgia’s breathtaking coastline, mountains and skiing resorts each year. The region is rich in cultural heritage and is exceptionally strong on folk traditions which include dance and polyphonic singing.

Importantly, there are no visa restrictions for EU, US or Canadian citizens.  Developing its full potential as an incentive travel destination has been one of Georgia’s aims since it underwent the ‘Rose Revolution’ in 2003.

The Ardenne Bleue region lies to the east of Belgium and represents a group of 20 towns most of which are about 1.5 hours from Brussels, Dusseldorf and Luxembourg. It is a spa region, famous for its natural springs, thermal baths and extensive forests. There is also a well-established hotel infrastructure and high quality golf course.

Libya is probably the newest destination to the meetings and incentive market, having only recently been open to tourism of any kind.  It remains largely untouched but offers one of the Mediterranean’s longest coastlines. Here lie features such as Leptis Magna.

Once one of the Roman Empire’s greatest cities, it is now one of the best-preserved Roman ruins in the world. Away from the coast visitors can experience the Sahara Desert and witness the lives led by nomadic people, such as the famous Toureg.

Asuncion allows visitors quick and easy access to landlocked Paraguay in South America. It is a peaceful and relaxed city, famous for its orange blossom and jasmine-covered facades. The city provides a wide range of hotel and convention facilities and also benefits from average temperatures of 25 degrees, plus exceptionally low prices for goods and services.

Says Maria Teresa Aguilera, CEO of the Asuncion Convention and Visitors Bureau, “Winning this Wild Card place at IMEX provides us with the chance to show our potential to the great European public, which is only now ‘discovering’ scarcely promoted South American destinations.”

Over the previous four years, the IMEX Wild Card scheme has provided a high profile launch-pad plus significant marketing investment to 13 destinations. Many of these have since become successful long-term operators in the incentive travel and meetings market and also regular exhibitors at the Frankfurt exhibition.

The Wild Card Scheme is part of the IMEX New Vision initiative which is designed to stimulate lasting change across all levels of the meetings, events and incentive travel industry worldwide.