The pandemic offers a chance for the global business events sector to reinvent itself. So says a white paper and recovery roadmap just jointly released by PCMA, the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau, Singapore Tourism Board, as well as Iceberg partner UFI. But the paper also details havoc already wreaked upon the industry. From PCMA…
Event sustainability group isla has launched proseed, billed as the first universal framework for delivering sustainable meetings. Launched in September 2020 in response to the climate crisis, isla’s twelve founding members have since grown to over 75, with a mix of brands, agencies, venues and event suppliers. From Meetings & Incentive Travelā¦
The UK government’s full Events Research Programme reportĀ was finally published following mounting pressure from the industry and MPs. Phase I recorded only 28 COVID-19 cases across nine pilot events with 58,000 participants. The Liverpool business event pilot chosen, Change Business for Good (pictured), saw no transmission cases. From Meetings & Incentive Travelā¦
When a US academic recently asked on Twitter whether our professional organisations should have vaccine and mask requirements at their on site meetings this autumn, the result was unexpectedly definitive. It also sets the stage for a challenging few months ahead, for the organisations, for destination local authorities, and also for attendees. From PCMA…
Much is said about serendipity at events. AĀ recent gathering of the Membership Committee for the African Society of Association Executives, attended by Gary Grimmer of Iceberg partner GainingEdge, saw a chance encounter develop into a legacy collaboration helping Girl Guides to learn beekeeping. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
When a healthcare meeting chose to require verification of COVID-19 vaccination for attendees, it had to figure out how to do so in practice. The HIMSS21 conference just held used CLEAR Health Pass Validation and Safe Expo Vaccine Concierge Validation to verify status of staff, vendors and attendees. From Associations Now…
The new Society for Incentive Travel Excellence in Great Britain President, Chris Parnham, has urged UK event professionals to get fully COVID-19 vaccinated and to see the act as an extension of their passport. In a call to echo globally, Parnham suggests they choose to help or hinder sector recovery. From Meetings & Incentive Travelā¦
As more meetings return fully in person or as hybrid with in person components, there is the chance that someone will test positive for COVID-19 following attendance. Having a plan to deal with this is crucial, and that plan begins by helping delegates understand to whom to report the information. From Associations Now…
On paper, travelling to meetings isĀ less friendly to the environment than meeting virtually. But events face-to-face have value add hard to quantify. Human interaction is vital for challenging entrenched ways of doing business. To tackle climate change, we must surely collaborate in person as well as online. From Meetings & Incentive Travelā¦
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were the most expensive to date, and too big to fail, despite ongoing challenges from the pandemic.Ā Gary Grimmer, the Executive Chairman of Iceberg partner GainingEdge, says they make a timely case study for planners and destinations in the new paradigm of broadcast-friendly hybrid events. From Meetings & Conventions Asiaā¦
The event sector is being urged to take more and earlier action over climate change, in advance of this November’sĀ COP26 conference at Glasgow’s SEC.Ā The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UK government and SME Climate Hub were part of the special event at which the call was made. From Meetings & Incentive Travelā¦
Sherrif Karamat is the President and CEO of the Professional Convention Management Association. He claims here that the pandemic isĀ raising the need to focus now on why we meet and why events like congresses are held. He also has some interesting ideas about The Iceberg’s favourite subject of legacy. From Meetings International…
The Iceberg always enjoys meetings described with an iicebergĀ metaphor. But this time it is not the broader legacy benefits that are harder to see below the surface, but the tacit versus explicit knowledge imparted. German Convention Bureau MD Matthias Schultze discusses face-to-face and his hybrid BOCOM event. From Matthias Schultze via LinkedInā¦
The Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe has published an update of its 2020 study on The Impact of Coronavirus on Europes Convention Sector. The new report, prepared by Tourism Economics, provides three recovery scenarios to reflect the possible range of developments given the level of uncertainty about how the pandemic situation…
Convention bureaus have operated as key stakeholders in the meetings industry for over a century, assuming major responsibility for marketing their cities, regions and countries as destinations for the hosting of business events, from small corporate gatherings to the vast annual conferences organised by international associations. During all of that time it has been clearly…
In Aprilās survey against March’s, much of the sector is experiencing a sense of languish. In the month between the two, vaccinations in the USĀ (where the majority of survey respondents live) have averaged around three million shots a day, certainly the country’s best chance of recovery. Yet seven percent fewer planner respondents reported feeling hopeful…
The health and safety of event attendees has always been a big consideration for meeting professionals. The COVID-19 outbreak, however, has brought health and safety into focus like never before. As many organisations consider resuming incentive group travel programs, health and safety is the most talked about element and an area of uncertainty as COVID…
Between February and March, a flurry of news articles predicted a huge surge in leisure travel, sometimes referred to as ārevenge travelā, as people celebrate the end of the pandemic, make up for lost time and splurge after the stress of living through COVID. Airlines have reported substantial jumps in air travel demand during March…
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has opened the Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall’s $1 billion expansion to launch Informa Marketsā World of Concrete. The event is the first big convention to return to the destination and the US after the pandemic. LVCC is now the second largest US facility. From Exhibition News…
Organisers of the 24th International AIDS Conference will create lasting legacies by helping on site and virtual delegates from poorer countries to attend the 2022 event.Ā An “ambitious” scholarship programme will let more attendees take part either in Montreal or else online. The society will also provide internet data and hardware devices. Association Meetings International…
Just fifteen people in 60,000,Ā in line with the broader population, tested positive for COVID-19 after they had attended one of nine pilot events in the UK Events Research Programme. Delegates at the events were not required to socially distance nor wear masks, but took PCR tests at home. From Association Meetings International…
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