Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory will host from 800 to 1,200 international delegates for the World Conference on Ecological Restoration in 2023. The meeeting, secured by NT Business Events, the Darwin Convention Centre and the Society of Ecological Restoration Australia, will leave an important legacy across the world’s damaged ecosystems. From AMI Intellectual Capitals..
The pandemic offers an opportunity for the business events industry to reinvent itself, according to a recently published white paper jointly presented by PCMA, Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau, Singapore Tourism Board, and Iceberg partner UFI, global association of the exhibition industry. But the paper, Reimagining Business Events Through COVID-19 and Beyond doesn’t make light of…
The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre is now Malaysia’s largest vaccination centre. The Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau has launched the Business Events Stewards Programme. Backed also by the secretariat of the Malaysia Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers, the scheme is providing volunteer venue staff at vaccination centres. From Exhibition World…
It has been revealed that COP26 President Alok Sharma has taken flights to 30 countries over the last seven months. The UK government minister running the UN’s climate change conference in Glasgow has been accused of hypocrisy, racking up tens of thousands of air miles in quick succession. From Association Meetings International…
The pandemic offers a chance for the global business events sector to reinvent itself. So says a white paper and recovery roadmap just jointly released by PCMA, the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau, Singapore Tourism Board, as well as Iceberg partner UFI. But the paper also details havoc already wreaked upon the industry. From PCMA…
Meetings industry leaders have just convened at a roundtable to thrash out their strategy for the future of business events in Australia. The event was hosted by both Tourism Australia and the Business Events Council of Australia, whose Deputy Chair Geoff Donaghy (pictured) is also CEO of meeting venue ICC Sydney. From Conference & Meetings World…
On paper, travelling to meetings is less friendly to the environment than meeting virtually. But events face-to-face have value add hard to quantify. Human interaction is vital for challenging entrenched ways of doing business. To tackle climate change, we must surely collaborate in person as well as online. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were the most expensive to date, and too big to fail, despite ongoing challenges from the pandemic. Gary Grimmer, the Executive Chairman of Iceberg partner GainingEdge, says they make a timely case study for planners and destinations in the new paradigm of broadcast-friendly hybrid events. From Meetings & Conventions Asia…
BestCities Global Alliance has just celebrated twenty-one years since its founding. Managing Director Lesley Williams reflects upon the Iceberg partner’s past and future, and upon the role collaboration has played in the journey. She also pays tribute to the BestCities’ member destinations and to more recently formed alliances. From BestCities Global Alliance…
Business leaders in Hong Kong are joining to promote “the vertical city” as a top meetings and conventions destination. One hundred inaugural ambassadors are being led by the Hong Kong Tourism Board with the aim of revitalising business events and strengthening Hong Kong’s reputation as a destination. From Association Meetings International…
The scale of the challenges facing event planners were again laid bare with the World Economic Forum announcing the cancelling of the Special Annual Meeting that was set for Singapore. Amid a spike in local cases of COVID-19, WEF cited the uncertain travel outlook and also variations in vaccination rollout. From Association Meetings International…
The national convention bureau Business Events Australia has placed AU$3 million more in the subvention pot to support bids for international events. Since its launch in 2018, the Business Events Bid Fund Program has helped attract 40 international events to Australia, worth about AU$411 million to the economy. From Association Meetings International…
Singapore is tightening up its COVID restrictions. The UK has piloted large free-of-mask events, but uncertainty remains over resuming international meetings. With the global vaccine rollout still not injecting enough certainty into the industry, four Northstar editors from around the world have collaborated on a global outlook. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
In celebration of Global Meetings Industry Day, PCMA hosted the first ever PCMA APAC and EMEA debate, attracting over 500 registrations from 57 countries. Moderated by Oscar Cerezales, Global Executive Vice President Corporate Division of Iceberg partner MCI Group, the big debate discussed the pros and cons of the potential vaccine passport. From PCMA…
Last September, the “Incredible Impacts” programme run collaboratively by Iceberg partners ICCA and BestCities Global Alliance selected three winning associations for the meeting legacy projects they submitted. Each of the three had shown a dedication to creating legacies that went far beyond the conference walls. The three winners were: Ecocity Builders and the BCIT Ecocity…
The Japan Convention Bureau, working under the umbrella of the Japan National Tourism Organisation, went all-online for its annual event targeted at event planners, Meet Japan. The educational familiarisation trip showcased the 2017 18th World Congress on Lung Cancer in Yokohama, plus a virtual tour of Osaka, set to host Expo 2025. From Boardroom…
In March 2020, the Iceberg partners AIPC and UFI released good practice guidance to help members manage the unfolding crisis, and in April 2020, further guidance on repurposing a convention or exhibition centre to serve as a temporary emergency facility. It is a role that many centres embraced to serve their community in a time…
Global convention sector consulting firm GainingEdge has launched the first annual report on leveraging the intellectual capital of convention destinations, based on an analysis of international association leadership. The research underpinning the Iceberg partner’s report identifies the relative strengths of 350 destinations via the presence of their local intellectual leaders in the governing bodies of international associations…
A new report names London the “intellectual capital” of the world. The study ranks destinations by the number of international association board members living in them. But the UK capital could attract more meetings by better “harnessing” its potential conference ambassadors. The report is from Iceberg partner GainingEdge. From Association Meetings International…
The Hong Kong International Dental Expo and Symposium has marked the first return to live trade shows since the fourth wave of COVID-19 shut down operations there back in November 2020. The meeting was attended by 3,000 delegates over three days, and held with distanced seating, face masks and temperature checks. From Association Meetings International…
The impact of the pandemic on Australia’s business events is well documented. The Business Council of Australia has reported a loss of AU$35 billion in direct expenditure for Australia’s economy and over 230,000 jobs affected. But what about the country’s knowledge economy, asks ICC Sydney CEO Geoff Donaghy? From Meetings International…
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