Harrogate Convention Centre in Yorkshire has hosted more than 320 suppliers from UK and Ireland at the ExploreGB event, together with at least 250 international organisations from 31 countries. Peter Dodd, the Commercial Director of Welcome to Yorkshire, offers a north of England events perspective. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
For destinations with industrial roots that have since evolved into innovation-based economies, showcasing a revamped identity not only helps to correct outdated perceptions but is also key to drawing in the right groups, for instance associations. Former Rust Belt cities Cleveland, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Cincinnati have all reinvented their economies. From PCMA…
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…
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Flavie de Bueil has more than 20 years’ experience in the Tourism and Meetings Industry. She began her career with diverse experiences in customer relations in the insurance and hospitality sectors and then decided to specialise in tourism, mixing her avid passion for international relations, people and cultures. Having graduated in Tourism Management and Culture…
The GSMA Mobile 360 Series – Eurasia conference, a regional event run by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, will be held in Moscow later this year. It follows last year’s successful debut in the same city, which gathered more than 600 attendees, over half of them director-level or above. From Association Meetings International…
Hamburg will be hosting the 2022 conference of the International Society for Hydrocephalus and Cerebrospinal Fluid Disorders. The meeting win underpins the city’s reputation as an intellectual capital for medical congresses. Hamburg’s large healthcare cluster includes companies, universities, research and training institutions, hospitals, and insurance funds. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Oman has won a bid to host the 30th edition of the International Radiology Congress in October 2020. Event highlights will include both diagnostic and interventional radiology, radiation protection and the use of artificial intelligence applications. More than 1,000 experts are expected to attend the congress from all over the globe. From Boardroom…
London’s standing as a host for major medical meetings has been raised, with Europe’s leading liver association choosing the city for its flagship meeting. Over 10,000 specialists will attend the European Association for the Study of the Liver’s International Liver Congress next year. The 2019 event has just run in Vienna. From Association Meetings International…
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…
Recently almost sixty incentive travel professionals took planes, trains and automobiles from sixteen countries to Verbier, Switzerland, to attend the inaugural Society of Incentive Travel Excellence’s SITE Incentive Summit Europe. SITE’s Chief Marketing Officer now reports on the four day alpine excursion of connections, education and destination discovery. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
As event organisers attract bigger audiences, they can outgrow the centres that once hosted them. But expansion of those venues is a tall order since most involve public funding. Getting buy-in for major investment may mean navigating a complex political maze, wrangling support, and explaining why a centre matters to a city’s economy. From PCMA…
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…
The creation of La Nuvola Convention Centre, also called The Cloud, has lifted Rome’s appeal as a meetings destination. Despite its much-criticised spiralling costs, construction taking eight years to complete at a cost of €239 million, it’s estimated that the centre could generate between €300 and €400 million annually within five years. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
VisitBritain’s flagship business event MeetGB has been held in Windsor, and VisitScotland Expo has said that its recent staging was one of the biggest since the event began life in 1980. The exhibition took place at Glasgow’s SEC over two days, and saw 340 businesses showcasing products to over 550 buyers. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Canada’s capital, Ottawa, is to launch a conference ambassador programme. Together Ottawa Tourism, the Shaw Centre (above) and Invest Ottawa will offer bespoke support to local experts becoming “trailblazers” by helping the city to secure major meetings. ThinkOttawa will work with its ambassadors to prepare bid documents and provide support. From Association Meetings International…
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…
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…
The Associations World Congress has just taken place in Gothenburg, Sweden. After an opening forum for medical associations, with a keynote on collaboration from Volvo, a new format encouraged delegates to move freely between content streams. Highlights included sessions about governance, communications and also the association of the future. From Boardroom…
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…
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