Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the world’s largest exhibition for AV and systems integration, has just taken place at the RAI in Amsterdam. With growing concern over coronavirus, and after the cancellation of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, ISE’s MD Mike Blackman explains which steps the meeting chose to take. From UFI…
Cancel, delay or go ahead? Planners of industry events are facing tough choices as significant gatherings of thousands or tens of thousands pose a major risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus. The cancellation of Mobile World Congress due to have been held in Barcelona shows how organisers are now under intense pressure. From Tech Xplore…
Just in advance of Iceberg partner AIME, the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event, opening its doors in Melbourne, its Event Director Jay Martens discussed the way both the meeting itself and the wider industry sector have been coping with the twin crises of Australia’s bushfires and the subsequent coronavirus outbreak. From PCMA…
Japan is hosting a “smart farming” conference this year as its manufacturers use technology to improve yield efficiencies in the sector. The International Conference on Agricultural Internet of Things and Smart Farming is being held this April in Tokyo. It comes as the Osaka-based Kubota Corporation has unveiled a fully autonomous tractor. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
Mobile World Congress, the huge smartphone conference, has been cancelled after significant exhibitors pulled out citing the coronavirus crisis. The association behind the event, GSMA, could have to foot the bill for the entire cost of cancellation unless Spain’s government declares the outbreak a health emergency. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
As a founding member of twenty years’ standing, the departure of Edinburgh from Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance came as quite a shock. BestCities’ new MD Lesley Williams felt the loss very keenly, having in the past spent seven years as Head of Business Tourism at Marketing Edinburgh’s Convention Bureau. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, has postponed its Macau Asia-Pacific Conference and Digital Innovation Forum, set to take place early next month. Over 300 delegates were expected at the Iceberg partner’s event, which due to the coronavirus crisis in China will now take place “later in the year”. From Association Meetings International…
In China, major venues like the Wuhan International Convention and Exhibition Center have been repurposed as temporary hospitals during the novel coronavirus crisis. But British nationals evacuated from Wuhan, the centre of the outbreak, have been taken to Kents Hill Park hotel and conference centre to spend fourteen days in quarantine. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The potential long-term impact of novel coronavirus on international events was underlined after planners cancelled a massive art fair in Hong Kong. Art Basel, Asia’s largest event of the kind, had to be called off even though taking place in late March. Iceberg partner ICCA has made a statement on the outbreak. From Association Meetings International…
Almost half of delegates at business events think face-to-face meetings are “critical”, says a new trade show study. The report out from AIME, the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event set to open in Melbourne, also shows 93 percent of delegates find human interaction and connections “important” during business events. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
As coronavirus continues to disrupt global travel and trade, planners of events are delaying, cancelling, or soldiering on with their plans. The Singapore Airshow 2020 has gone ahead with temperature screening on site. But some exhibitors have pulled out and a related conference has been cancelled. Other events have been postponed. From PCMA…
Travel restrictions are in force across the globe as the number of cases of novel coronavirus continues to grow worldwide and the death toll within China mounts. The outbreak is now disrupting meetings all across the region. A UN biodiversity meeting was relocated. IT&CM China and CTW China have been postponed. From Association Meetings International…
An engineer has helped to secure yet another major conference for Auckland, New Zealand. The win is his third in five years. Dr Nirmal Nair of the University of Auckland led a successful bid for TENCON 2021, run by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The meeting should attract 600 delegates. From Association Meetings International…
Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance is marking its 20th year on the back its Copenhagen Global Forum in December. Madrid has been announced as taking on the baton of the 2020 event, under the banner strapline of “Developing Legacy Together”. In Copenhagen, eighteen international association executives attended. From Meetings International…
As coronavirus isolates China from outside countries, Ping Liu, CEO of destination management company and professional congress organiser China Star, offers cultural views on how her business is approaching cancellations and postponements. Links to Professional Convention Management Association resources on coronavirus. Photo: Painjet. From PCMA…
As global leaders form strategies to contain the spread of coronavirus, so also must event managers and owners. Four distinct requirements are critical to meet. That’s according to Sylvia André, the Vice President for Marketing and Communications at Iceberg partner MCI. The article links to Professional Convention Management Association resources on coronavirus. From PCMA…
2020 began with disturbing images of burnt koalas and fears of their “imminent extinction”. Climate change has played a role in the catastrophic and unprecedented early fire season, and the meeting industry can take a lead in tackling this universal issue. Paula Blomster of MPI’s European Advisory Council explains. From Association Meetings International…
With the WHO declaring coronavirus a public health emergency, and with airlines suspending their flights to China, conference managers are having to cancel, delay or relocate their meetings in the country. One professional congress organiser said his clients were exercising “extreme caution” because of the crisis. From Association Meetings International…
Leaders of Australia’s convention bureaux have sought to dampen fears about the recent bushfires and quash what they call the spread of “misinformation”. The Association of Australian Convention Bureaux says organisers and managers of events should be contacting its members for destination-specific information and advice. Photo: Rob Russell. From Association Meetings International…
The Seoul Convention Bureau is partnering with other Korean cities to promote business events. In 2019 nearly 7,000 delegates made use of co-marketing support provided by Seoul and Gangwon for incentive group tours. Currently Gangwon and Gwangju have agreements with Seoul, with four more cities joining up later in 2020. From Meetings International…
Malaysia is expecting to welcome more than 65,000 conference and exhibition goers in 2020, national convention bureau MyCEB having secured 42 business meetings over the next 12 months. Most delegates, expected to boost national coffers by RM654 million (€144 million), are employed in healthcare, telecoms, or science and technology. From Association Meetings International…
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