In 2000 and 2006 business events legend and friend of the Iceberg Elizabeth Rich wrote provocative articles about the sector’s struggle with identity. After years at the helm of the Meetings Industry Association of Australia and the Business Events Council of Australia, she remains a keen observer in challenging times. From Meetings International…
We are in unchartered territory with a global pandemic disrupting lives and livelihoods. But with improved knowledge about the virus, more efficient testing and now with mass vaccinations, the tide is turning. Kai Hattendorf, Managing Director and CEO of Iceberg partner UFI, offers with his team five trends to drive industry development. From UFI…
The CEO of CTICC (the Cape Town International Convention Centre), Taubie Motlhabane, had been in postition for about three months when coronavirus took hold. She has been talking about her earlier career journey, about CTICC’s role as the Hospital of Hope, and about working with soup kitchen Ladles of Love. From Exhibition World…
The pandemic has questioned the role of the meetings industry and the function destinations now play. Five European convention bureaux, part of an informal alliance, share perspectives on how emerging as intellectual capitals may be key to staying relevant beyond the crisis: Glasgow, Copenhagen, Vienna, Brussels and Barcelona. From Boardroom…
When looking for hybrid meeting sites, over a third of respondents to the Convene Recovery Dashboard surveys conducted in late summer and autumn were seeking venues with broadcasting facilities. As a result, convention centres around the world have worked quickly to meet the demand, with facilities designed as spaces to reflect the destination. From PCMA…
During the pandemic meeting venues have already been used as field hospitals. Why shouldn’t the sector also play a role in rolling out of the coronavirus vaccine? It boasts exactly the right set of skills to help deliver such logistics at scale. So argues Julian Agostini, Managing Director at Iceberg partner Mash Media. From Exhibition World…
A live keynote was given at the 87th Global Congress of Iceberg partner UFI by the President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council Gloria Guevara Manzo. Her address presented WTCC research, outlined WTCC efforts to jumpstart recovery, and offered key learnings from past crises that relate to the current pandemic. From UFI…
Coronavirus vaccinations are already happening, the success of their rapid development owed to many factors. One is the rise of virtual meetings which let delegates around the world work collaboratively on solutions. Organiser Keystone Symposia moved “Vaccinology in the Age of Pandemics: Strategies Against COVID-19 & Other Global Threats” online this June. From PCMA…
The congresses of the future need to have a positive, long-lasting impact at heart, not solely as a justification to travel and meet, but also to augment their contribution to stimulating and driving social and economic change. In order to achieve this, associations and destinations need concrete tools that can help them work strategically with…
The IMEX Group has published a research report that urges the global meetings, incentive travel and events industry to adopt a new economic model… the circular economy. The Regenerative Revolution – A New Paradigm for Event Management calls on the global events industry to embrace circular design thinking and to understand the principles and power…
In the UK the Meetings Industry Association received formal notice that business events for up to thirty delegates are allowed to take place under the second national lockdown in England between November 5th and December 2nd 2020. Bookings had been lost after lockdown was announced. From Conference News…
Following years of research into the impact of major congresses, along with producing legacy reports and tools together with MeetDenmark, Copenhagen CVB has shared its Copenhagen Legacy Lab with the global meetings industry in parallel with the 59th ICCA World Congress. Copenhagen Legacy Lab is also now an Iceberg partner. From Meetings International…
Iceberg partner ICCA’s multi-hub, hybrid 59th Congress has concluded with a message of support delivered by Xavier Bettel, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg. Other highlights included the annual Copenhagen Lecture, and the creation of The Kaohsiung Protocol, a research crowdsourced framework for recovery. From Conference News…
More than 525,000 jobs are now at risk across the £84 billion UK events and experiences industry, and three out of four companies could fail to survive beyond next February, the government has been warned. The impact on around 774,000 working in business events was laid out in research given to ministers. From Conference News…
A report from Iceberg partner IMEX calls for the meetings industry to regenerate and not just to restart. Written by Guy Bigwood of Iceberg partner GDS-Movement, the study “Regenerative Revolution: A New Paradigm for Event Management” calls on the sector to move past mere sustainability and adopt the circular economy model. From Conference News…
The 27th annual UK Conference and Meeting Survey report confirms that in 2019 the industry was “extremely robust and dynamic” and made a substantial contribution of nearly £18 billion to the UK economy. The UKCAMS research demonstrates the scale and importance of the sector to the national economy. From Conference News…
Two event industry associations have called on governments to prioritise coronavirus testing over quarantine so as to “keep business going”. Iceberg partner UFI, global association of the exhibition sector, with Society for Independent Show Organisers SISO want policymakers to make use of rapid antigen COVID tests. From Association Meetings International…
A convention bureau leader has argued that knowledge and inward investment stimulated by business events has a “far greater value” than tourism receipts. Announcing new performance figures, the acting CEO of BESarawak Amelia Roziman said association meetings had “deeper” legacy benefits. From Association Meetings International…
The “new normal” notwithstanding, the preference across the industry for holding in-person meetings is clear. So what do both venues and destination marketing organisations need to focus on to maximise their attendance in-person now as hybrid meetings proliferate? Sarah Fleming, Managing Director of Sarah Fleming Associates, has some ideas on the subject. From Sarah Fleming…
Now a COVID-19 vaccine seems imminent after months cooped up indoors on Zoom, the release from getting back face-to-face will feel better than ever. We’ll want to meet, travel, see people and everything in between. But that is not a reason to throw our obligations to the planet away. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Iceberg partner Global Association Hubs’ International Advisor Martin Sirk interviewed four association leaders in preparation for an online education session during the recent #PlanetIMEX event. They discussed how the pandemic has impacted operations, is reshaping thinking, and what international meetings might look like in future. From Boardroom…
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