The Greek capital is targeting small and medium-sized international conventions with “know-how and financial resources”. So said Alexis Galinos, MD of ADDMA (the Athens Development and Destination Management Agency), at the 9th Hellenic Association of Professional Congress Organisers conference. Athens is currently 26th in ICCA city rankings. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
400 participants from 40 countries have gathered in Madrid for the World Hospital at Home Congress, the first event of its kind. Dr. Bruce Allen Leff, the event co-chair, said: “We talked a lot about the HaH community that this meeting has helped to build, but with this congress, we became a tribe”. From PCMA…
ACC Liverpool has confirmed a series of conferences returning to the venue after signing multi-year deals. Insurance buyers association Airmic recently confirmed, signing a four year deal over the next twelve years, taking its congress to 2031. The British Equine Veterinary Association has also signed a two year deal for 2022 and 2024. From Association Meetings International…
Maputo is getting ready to host the upcoming Mozambique Ports and Rail Evolution Forum 2019. The meeting joins two others in transport already taking place in Africa, with dmg events growing its portfolio in the sector. Mozambique is expected to be investing more than $13bn into port, railway and corridor infrastructure development. From the Event…
For the fifth year running, Omnipress has just published its “State of the Conference Industry Report”, which collects and analyses the responses of 150 association professionals, many directly responsible for event planning. Managing last-minute content changes was revealed as the respondents’ most common challenge, with content distribution also posing problems. From PCMA…
Lyn Lewis-Smith, CEO of Business Events Sydney, recently joined a Trans-Tasman Business Circle’s #womenintechontour visiting San Francisco and Silicon Valley to gather intelligence on the skills and talent attraction strategies of US multinational corporations. Global meeting attendees present a ripe opportunity that is currently being overlooked. From Lyn Lewis-Smith via LinkedIn…
The recent terror attacks in Sri Lanka have devastated a country enjoying resurgent tourism since the end of civil war a decade ago. It is crucial that the international community, especially in incentive travel, does not abandon the destination. Rajeev Kohli is joint MD of Creative Travel DMC, which has operations in Sri Lanka. From PCMA…
Big association conferences are often regarded as being at the very centre of the events universe, with long lead times and high returns, both in prestige and legacy. But professional congress organisers also create original events, like Kenes Group’s recent and “tribal” World Hospital at Home Congress (pictured). From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
A global initiative to address plastic use at events has just been launched by Iceberg partner Positive Impact, supported by the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The campaign is collecting usage data as well as encouraging the switch to alternative materials, and began when the two organisations’ CEOs met at a conference. From PCMA…
First announced in February, the #MEET4IMPACT Project is the brainchild of Geneviève Leclerc, Founder of Caravelle Strategies. Along with several partners, the initiative is creating a framework to support the generation and measurement of association meetings’ social impacts. More details have now been unveiled about the approaches being taken. From Boardroom…
José Zuniga of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care has been named Executive Director of the Year in Gothenburg at the International and European Association Awards. The Association of the Year Award was the European Society of Endocrinology. The event is a highlight of the Associations World Congress. From Association Meetings International…
Centaur Media Travel and Meetings is to be sold to Northstar Travel Media UK for £9.25 million. The company’s 25-year-old Business Travel Show is claimed to be the largest event of its kind in Europe, while its flagship The Meetings Show is said to be the UK market leader. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The SIAARTI Academy event of the Italian Society for Anaesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care has won the corporate social responsibility trophy for AIM Group International at the 9th Global Eventex Awards. The legacy-focussed event, an Iceberg favourite, was hosted on the island of Lampedusa and included a major incident simulation (pictured). From Boardroom…
The Cannabis Expo has just lit up Cape Town for four days, as visitors to Sun Exhibits, GrandWest, arrived and learnt about this rapidly growing industry. Over 16,500 attended the show, even more than visited its inaugural staging in Pretoria. The expo heads to Durban this June. From the Event…
The Events Industry Council has announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer, Amy Calvert, after a global search. Calvert is currently Senior Vice President of Convention Sales and Services with Visit Baltimore, and has worked in the past for Long Beach Convention Bureau and Intercontinental Hotels Group. From the Events Industry Council…
Destinations International and its Foundation have announced the 2019 “30 Under 30” class, which will convene at the 2019 Destinations International Annual Convention this July in St. Louis, Missouri. The young honorees (the 2018 class is pictured) come from a variety of destination organisations, and will receive mentoring and other opportunities under the scheme. From PCMA…
Several hundred association executives and exhibitors from across the meetings industry have gathered in Gothenburg, Sweden, for the two-and-a-half day 2019 Associations World Congress. The event kicked off with a special forum for medical associations and an uplifting musical reception with performances from various choirs and orchestras. From Association Meetings International…
School computer labs across rural Sarawak, Malaysia, will be benefitting after convention organisers and their delegates complete surveys from the Sarawak Convention Bureau. Sarawak CB will be making a donation for each returned form to the Chumbaka Junior Innovate Fund. By Jane Vong Holmes, Senior Manager Asia, at Iceberg Partner GainingEdge (second left). Many of the world’s…
In advance of the Business Visits and Events Focus North conference in Leeds, organiser John Gallery has been making the case that the north of England offers meetings industry planners good value for money. Some of the region’s destination marketing organisations are also aligning economic development ambitions with events in target sectors. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
No convention bureau would be seen dead without a conference ambassador programme. But why are they important? Here’s a round up from Edinburgh, where budget cuts recently threatened the very existence of its ambassadors, to Glasgow, Dubai, Montreal (whose ambassador gala awards is pictured), Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto and Korea. From Association Meetings International…
The meetings industry has joined others in condemning anti-LGBT laws in Brunei, where sex between men just became a capital offence and sex between women punishable by up to ten years in prison. IAPCO and DRPG have warned of damage this will cause to the sultanate’s destination status. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Powered by 
