The rift in the Larsen C Ice Shelf photographed in November 2016.
In this edition of Business Events World, the biggest Iceberg story yet to break… quite literally.
According to NASA’s Aqua satellite, at some point between July 10th and 12th a massive chunk of the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica finally snapped off. The resulting A-68 iceberg is 5,800 square kilometres in area, 200 metres thick and weighs over a trillion metric tonnes.
The new berg, while being larger than the US state of Delaware and one of the biggest ever recorded, is currently lacking any quality meetings industry infrastructure. There’s clearly an investment opportunity here for some brave MI venture capital fund. Or perhaps a small… ahem… floatation?
Back in the real Iceberg / Business Events World News section this issue… Successful Meetings names the industry’s twenty-five most influential people. An anonymous blacklist naming and shaming alleged events freeloaders is dividing opinion. A plague on both your houses perhaps? AIPC “transforms” the new ICC Sydney, Nottingham launches an events ambassador scheme, and Hawaii a further legal challenge to Trump Travel Ban II. A second legal association is boycotting Texas, this time in a protest against different state laws from the first. Applications have opened for the ASAE Foundation’s Innovation Grants Program, and Paris, Los Angeles and the International Olympic Committee are together coming up with a whole new approach to destination bid selection.
In Opinions we have the US Fiduciary Conflict of Interest Rule and its effect on Incentives. There are pieces on artificial intelligence, on different definitions of affordability, and a helpful list of ten guiding event design principles for PCOs.
And in Features… a fascinating read on how Colorado fought to secure the Outdoor Retailer show for Denver… and – back in Sydney – video coverage of the 2017 AIPC Annual Conference at ICC Sydney (with a couple of faces very familiar to The Iceberg).
Until the next time…
Robert Coren, Curator of The Iceberg
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The gleaming new ICC Sydney has just hosted the 2017 Annual Conference of the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC). As well as being a prime example of what a modern centre should itself be, the entire Darling Harbour redevelopment precinct was also the perfect setting for a theme of “Transformation”. From CIM News Magazine…
The Outdoor Retailer trade show is switching to a three event annual format and coming to Denver and the Colorado Convention Center. The story of its move away from Utah is a tale of politics, proposed legacies in conservation and health, and the tireless campaigning of Colorado’s outdoor recreation chief – and Everest mountaineer – Luis Benitez. From Outside…
At Meetings Africa 2017, South Africa announced a bidding fund to target and win international association conferences and meetings. But subvention can be a mistake if not clearly linked to encouraging growth in key knowledge sectors. A special Event video report – produced in partnership with The Iceberg – explores the role the meetings industry will play in African economic development.
Innovative technology start-ups are now increasingly visible alongside the more established energy sector across Calgary’s business landscape. The destination is home to the largest number of fledgling tech businesses per capita in Canada, and the recently refurbished Calgary TELUS Convention Centre likes to see itself as a facilitator of this entrepreneurial trend. From PCMA Convene…
Already with the world’s fastest Internet connection speed, the city-state of Singapore is making a play to become Asia’s leading start-up incubator and the next silicon valley. The Singapore Tourism Board makes the case that coming investment in R & D, the many ICT events already held there, and an easy business environment all help foster tech success. From PCMA Convene…
From its annual home in Berlin, re:publica is a sizeable conference celebrating and debating digital disruption in a face-to-face format. The bohemian approach of the 2016 running cemented a ten year track record of legacy influence on regulation and legislation. There are also now sister events in Dublin and Thessaloniki. Photo: Jan Zappner. From tw tagungswirtschaft…
IMEX 2017 in Frankfurt saw the launch of one initiative rather complementary in its aims to what the Joint Meetings Industry Council and The Iceberg are also trying to achieve. ICCA – the International Congress and Convention Association – and BestCities Global Alliance announced that associations whose meetings have a great legacy story to tell will be able to apply for…
IMEX 2017 – the largest ever running of the show – officially opened on May 16 with a state of the industry address from IMEX Group Chairman Ray Bloom. German Convention Bureau Managing Director Matthias Schultze also spoke – in strong support of unfettered movement across borders – and the opening keynote came in the form of a unique city perspective on the…
Vilnius, capital of the Republic of Lithuania in Northern Europe, was the host for CONVENE earlier this year and has long been a leading events destination in the region. Now the new Go Vilnius agency will link up the city’s marketing with its more strategic economic goals of attracting investment and talent. From tmf dialogue marketing…
At PCMA Convening Leaders in Texas, collaborative education by IAPCO (the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers) and the event hosts reinforced the need for global association education strategies to be applied locally. Having a professional congress organizer (PCO) that understands the importance of locally-sourced intellectual capital – and that is aligned to the mission of the association – can…
Sarah Fleming Associates has always maintained that in order to successfully engage a potential buyer and to attract conference business to any city or destination, it is important to be able to put forward a strong business case for holding an event or conference in the city. An effective lead generation programme should therefore focus on…
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In a creative if unusual approach to bid selection – let the events industry take note – the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded the 2024 and 2028 games together to both Paris and Los Angeles. Which city hosts which games will be decided later by the destinations’ National Olympic Committees and the IOC. From CIM News Magazine…
Applications are now being accepted for the ASAE Foundation’s Innovation Grants Program. The charitable branch of the American Society of Association Executives – an Iceberg partner – is awarding five bursaries of up to $10,000 each for innovative association projects in travel, exploration or hybrid (travel and exploration). The closing date is October 1st. From Association Meetings International…
Following the boycott of another legal association last month for different reasons, the American Association of Law Libraries has decided not to stage future events in Texas. The AALL cites a new state law allowing publicly funded agencies to deny services for children in care on religious grounds, and also the proposed “bathroom bill”. Photo: LoneStarMike. From Meetings & Conventions…
A federal judge in Hawaii has expanded the list of family relationships with US citizens that permit successful visa applications from countries proscribed in President Trump’s Travel Ban II. US District Judge Derrick Watson ordered the administration not to bar citizens’ grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. From Meetings & Conventions…
The UK city of Nottingham is launching an ambassador programme to attract £5 million of research-led academic events from 2018. The scheme – run by Visit Nottinghamshire, part of Marketing NG, and the Nottingham Hospitality Association (NHA) – is intended in time to create a network of 200 ambassadors bringing in significant events to the city. From Association Meetings International…
“Transformation” was the theme of the 2017 Annual Conference of the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC). The transformed meetings industry landscape of Sydney, Australia, was the setting… and at its heart the gleaming new venue of ICC Sydney. Among the speakers was Professor Greg Clark, whose city perspective was also a recent highlight of IMEX. From Boardroom…
The plague of bogus professional attendees who serially freeload at events has long been understood by the meetings industry. But an anonymous “name and shame” email listing 31 people alleged to have no real connection with the sector has also just caused controversy. The conference to whose attendees the list was sent has disowned it. From Association Meetings International…
Twenty-five people have been named by an Iceberg partner publication as 2017’s “most influential” in the meetings industry. The group – sorted into “game changers”, “strategists”, “trailblazers”, “advocates” and “educators” – includes representatives from ASAE, ICCA, MCI, MPI and PCMA. All of them are making an impact right across the sector. As chosen by the editorial team at Successful Meetings…
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Growing its business events sector is part of Malaysia’s strategy to achieve status as a developed nation by 2020. This case study presents the contribution made by the 55th ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) Congress towards developing the business events sector in the country. ICCA’s event engaged political leaders and the local community to raise awareness of the needs…
The Geneva Convention Bureau has adopted a policy of promoting Geneva not only as a destination but also as a center of economic, knowledge and innovation excellence. It does this by marketing meetings and events in relation to local key clusters of industry. As a result, a dynamic and virtuous feedback loop is established between Geneva’s economic or knowledge…
This research by Business Events Sydney (BESydney) demonstrates that business events offer delegates unrestricted exposure to innovative ideas and opportunities to develop new knowledge and skills. Part of the Beyond Tourism Benefits series, the new study by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) – Conferences: Catalysts for Thriving Economies – provides further evidence showing that…
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The future belongs to cities. To be specific, the future belongs to cities that can attract the brightest and the best people, and encourage them to thrive. Today cities compete nationally and internationally to attract businesses, skilled migrants, and of course visitors. However, to an increasingly globalised population a city’s postcard views and monuments matter…
The Global Association Hubs Partnership (GAHP) was created by Brussels, Dubai, Singapore, and Washington DC to engage with the international association community as a trusted partner for international growth. A key component of the GAHP strategy is to feed this dialogue with original research-based content and to provide education and networking opportunities for association decision…
The meetings and conventions industry is evolving into a global innovation distribution channel. Over the last decade, convention bureaus have been collaborating more strategically with their local and state governments, economic development agencies, academic and scienti c institutions, and local business improvement districts to better leverage the value of conventions in their cities, especially those aligned…
The Association of AACB’s latest analysis of bids won, bids lost and the bid pipeline highlights that while its members have secured 360 international business events in the Forward Calendar (as at July 2016), 235 bids had been lost for the next decade. This lost business is estimated to be valued at AU$805m in direct…
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“Uneasy lies the head of the PCO” to adapt Shakespeare. But what should a PCO’s guiding principles be in designing a conference or exhibition? What works really well and what really does not? Principles 1 – 5 are listed on the article page. Click through issue 7 of the full magazine at the bottom for 6 – 10. From the Event…
Whether it’s all about the cost of the airfare itself or of the transportation from the airport, whether it’s about the pricing of the meeting’s accommodation, food and beverages, Wi-Fi access or off-site venues, views on what constitutes affordability in the meetings industry are as many and varied as are the events themselves. From Successful Meetings…
AI or artificial intelligence is widely perceived as a paradigm shift in computing that will supplant human labour rather than assisting or complementing it. But far from driverless vehicles or robots replacing human workers, it may be in less obvious areas like attendee profile matchmaking that the invisible technology truly comes into its own. From Meetings & Conventions…
Last year the US Department of Labor announced its Fiduciary Conflict of Interest Rule, which was supported by President Obama, then delayed but not repealed by President Trump. Coming into full effect next January, the rule covers compensation – including gifts or trips – to those providing financial advice on retirement planning. The incentives industry is directly affected. From Meetings & Conventions…
Positive event trajectory, positive event perception, relationship growth, and experience satisfaction. Rather than bombarding delegates with too many feedback questions, these are the meaningful reactions to benchmark. Lisette Sheehan and Lyndsay Merbach, measurement experts at the Sparks agency and 2017 PCMA Education Conference speakers, discuss the metrics that matter to planners in improving their events. From PCMA Convene…
The Manchester Arena bombing on May 22nd has highlighted the extreme challenges venue operators face in keeping visitors safe at events. Perhaps the changing threat landscape now demands closer collaboration between venues, events… and their respective communities. Geoff Donaghy is President of AIPC (the International Association of Convention Centres) and CEO of ICC Sydney. From tw tagungswirtschaft…
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Capturing valuable insights and conversations: Be immersed in engaging live or virtual technologies with MCI proven expertise to be aware of the latest trends. Explore the key topics that affect your business environment through the unique insights of MCI’s industry experts.
Client/Supplier Business Workshops is an intensive and focused two-day networking event between ICCA members (suppliers) and international association clients, offering the opportunity for both to meet face-to-face and discuss future co-operation in a tailor-made Workshop environment. The Workshop has 15 allocations and each participating member each invite an association client to the Workshop to discuss…
Organised by the European Travel Commission, European Cities Marketing & MODUL University Vienna, both events are directed toward managers, academics, as well as consultants and representatives of governments and international organizations dealing with tourism. Participants are invited to register for both days or can choose to participate in just one event.
During the workshop, the participating clients get the opportunity to meet people from a minimum of nine or a maximum of fourteen other venues. They make initial contact with the sales team as well as learn the suitability (or otherwise) of the venues in a way that would otherwise have been time consuming and would…
Meeting Professionals are invited to join us for a unique learning experience that is focused on a well-rounded look at conference management and the changing landscape of our industry. In order to maximize learning outcomes and networking opportunities, this seminar is strictly limited in size and allows for maximum interaction with faculty and industry experts.
In this free webcast moderated by Incentive’s Leo Jakobson, attendees will learn everything they need to know to run an effective dealer network incentive program. The session will offer a step-by-step guide on how to create the rules structure, promote the program, track participant performance, deliver the awards, and measure the results.
Interested in supporting the creation of a sustainable event industry? Passionate about events and/or sustainability? Register now to join our associate training and become part of a global team of people who believe events should have a positive impact.
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Access a world of business opportunities at your fingertips. ibtm china is where meetings, events and incentives industry decision makers meet to do business. We unite global suppliers with highly qualified Chinese and international events and meeting planners for two inspirational days of business, networking and education.
ibtm® latin america, part of ibtm® events, is the place where leaders, organizers and specialized suppliers for congresses, conventions, corporate events and incentives meet for business adventures. For suppliers to the industry it’s the place to develop new business leads, increase their sales, and promote their company and brands in the Americas, Latin America and…
Connect with the top hotels, CVBs, DMCs, and venues from across the Southeast in pre-scheduled one-on-one appointments and unique experiential networking events, while enjoying a fully hosted, three-night stay at Nobu Hotel Eden Roc Resort in Miami Beach from September 10-13, 2017.
The SITE Foundation’s most prestigious fundraising event includes a select group of incentive travel buyers and top industry suppliers that come together for three days of business-networking, education and activities that showcase the destination.
Experience Caymankind culture on the beautiful Grand Cayman! Connect with the top hotels, CVBs, DMCs, and venues from across the Caribbean in pre-scheduled one-on-one appointments and unique experiential networking events, while enjoying a fully hosted, three-night stay at The Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa from September 17-20, 2017.
18th EVVC Management Conference. Latest topics of the events industry. Roundtables, workshops, etc.
Invaluable business connections, targeted education, and unforgettable experiences—all while experiencing the magic of the Hawaiian Islands. This unique event is hosted by Northstar Meetings Group’s leading brands—Successful Meetings, Meetings & Conventions, and Incentive Magazine—in partnership with Meet Hawaii, Maui Visitors Bureau, and The Wailea Beach Marriott.
A must-attend event for visitor services professionals, this is the foremost opportunity to connect with colleagues to discuss the issues and trends that impact you and the visitors you serve. Explore diverse industry practices and case studies to exemplify what is working, what opportunities to explore, and what management practices to hone.
Established in 1993, IT&CMA is at the forefront of fostering MICE growth opportunities for the Asia-Pacific and beyond. Its multi-faceted programme engages regional and international industry suppliers and buyers in the realms of business, education and networking. IT&CMA also features dedicated platforms designed around the interests of valuable MICE niche segments, enabling the event to consistently…
One of the most popular events held during IMEX America week, this SITE Foundation event annually attracts over 1200 SITE members, IMEX hosted buyers and suppliers to an exciting Las Vegas venue for an evening of networking and relationship building.
If you influence or manage international or domestic meetings and events, then IMEX America is where you belong. Whether you’re a corporate, association or agency planner you’ll discover fabulous business, education and networking opportunities. This truly is the power source for the meetings industry. Productive appointments. Face time with key players. The knowledge to boost your…
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