The Australian Federal Government shut down all non-essential indoor events for over one hundred people on March 18th (then for more than two people on March 29th). Event venues like ICC Sydney no longer are able to deliver events. This is an unprecedented situation, says CEO Geoff Donaghy. From Boardroom…
The torrent of business event cancellations precipitated by the coronavirus crisis has seen planners all over the world examining the small print of their insurance contracts. Indeed many have had to reassess their entire approach to purchasing coverage. Terry Waller is Managing Director of event insurance specialist Arc International. In this Iceberg exclusive video, Waller…
With social impact moving ever higher up the business events agenda, ICC Sydney’s Legacy Program has set out to inspire conference organisers to make wider a contribution in the Australian host destination and beyond. Five streams of legacy creation guide associations and event planners towards the best fit for their own organisation. From Boardroom…
The Northern Territory (NT) Business Events Fund is offering AUS$200 per delegate before May 31st for events staged in the NT by the end of June 2021. Then it reverts to AUS$100. NT stole the show on the first day of Iceberg partner AIME in Melbourne with a tunnel light installation. From Association Meetings International…
The Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME), an Iceberg partner, opened in Melbourne with the Hosted Buyer Breakfast served by New Zealand celebrity chef Justin North. For each of the 140 present, Tourism New Zealand committed to the legacy of planting a native tree with conservation charity Trees That Count. From PCMA…
Figures show that Brisbane hosted over 940 business events delivering an estimated AU$351 million to the local economy during financial year 2018-19, with association events playing a major role. Queensland’s capital has already confirmed ten major national and international association congresses for 2020. From Association Meetings International…
Many DMOs (Destination Marketing Organisations) have started to realise the true value of meetings and are tracking the social outcomes they deliver. Some governments include business events as part of policy. Karen Bolinger, Strategic Advisor at Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance, talks “beyond tourism” legacies. From City / Nation / Place…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
As Sherrif Karamat, President and CEO of the Professional Convention Management Association explains, PCMA and the PCMA Foundation have set a goal of raising at least $250,000 to help those affected by the recent bushfires in Australia and earthquakes in Puerto Rico. The first $50,000 is already committed. From PCMA…
Destinations’ medical expertise wins them association meetings. This global checkup includes oncology in Copenhagen and Lyon, ENT medicine in Brisbane, child cardiology in Washington DC, pain management in Dublin, medical physics in Adelaide, women’s mental health in Maastricht, oesophageal disease in Tokyo and obesity in Glasgow. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
Many cities powering ahead in renewable energy have appropriate geographic or climatic conditions. But traditional oil and gas-rich destinations are also attracting meetings in the sector. Here’s how Abu Dhabi, Calgary and Singapore, plus Costa Rica, Norway, Monaco, Australia and New Zealand, are all meeting the shifts in power. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
As bushfires continue to cause devastation across all of Australia, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre has become a disaster relief centre. It is offering transition assistance to evacuees from Mallacoota in East Gippsland, including access to food and water, medical support and other services. From News.com.au…
Sydney will be hosting the world’s largest machine learning meeting in 2021. The annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems attracted 13,000 experts last week to Vancouver. The data science arm of Australia’s national science agency led the bid with BESydney, supported by the NSW Government. From CIM Business Events…
Adelaide will host the 2023 World Potato Congress, the first time the biennial meeting has been held in Australia. The winning bid was led by the Adelaide Convention Bureau and Potatoes South Australia, which won over the WPC board with the idea of a WPC Trust supporting developing nations R&D. From Association Meetings International…
Gothenburg has lead Iceberg partner GDS-Index, the Global Destination Sustainability Index, for the fourth year running. The listing ranks sustainability performance in 50 business event destinations. At 58th ICCA Congress in Houston the GDS-Index Awards were announced as well, with Sydney receiving the Innovation trophy. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre is to host the 2022 International Congress on Obesity. The winning bid was secured by the Melbourne Convention Bureau, with input also from the Australia & New Zealand Obesity Society and support from Victoria’s State Government and Tourism Australia’s Business Events Bid Fund Programme. From Association Meetings International…
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