Magical Kenya Travel Expo 2019 has just run at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre. In a session on business events, Lance Gibbons, the Publisher of Iceberg partner Event Africa, headed up a discussion on the importance of the sector. Also contributing was Jeffers Miruka, President of African Society of Association Executives. From the Event…
Conferences and events are set to play a key role in the West Midlands’ new Regional Tourism Strategy, which aims to grow the area’s visitor economy by more than £1 billion and create 19,000 local jobs. At the conurbation’s heart is Birmingham, a city on the rise. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Manchester venue EventCity has just submitted a request to relocate to a new site in TraffordCity. The project aims to bring city centres closer together and to grow business tourism. Marketing Manchester recently announced the goal of increasing tourism by 40 percent, bringing in a further £345 million over five years. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The International Convention Centre Wales, the new £84 million venue in Newport, South Wales, has opened its doors to UK and international events, with over 5,500 delegates experiencing the venue in a packed first week. The first event was the Association of Stoma Care Nurses three-day UK Annual Conference 2019. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
ExCeL London has hosted Sibos, the world’s premier financial services event, for the first time. With over 9,000 business leaders attending alongside 300 banking and fintech exhibitors, it was Sibos’ largest-ever audience and exhibitor participation. A host of fringe activity also took place around London, delivering significant economic impact. From Association Meetings International…
Meet in Reykjavik, in partnership with the Icelandic Travel Industry Association, has hosted an annual event for partners in the country’s meetings industry. At the event, three of the convention bureau’s ambassadors were honoured for their roles in securing important meetings for the Icelandic capital. From Meetings International…
In the first half of 2019, MyCEB, the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau, secured a total of 301 events with an expected 570,741 delegates, 208,555 of them from abroad. These meetings will happen between 2019 and 2028, will create around RM3.9 billion of economic impact, and include four wins of particular significance. From Meetings International…
Edinburgh will leave Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance at the end of the year after major public sector funding cuts that have devastated Marketing Edinburgh. The body is the destination’s convention and visitors bureau, and is responsible for promoting the city to the world. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Construction work has just begun on a new trade fair and convention centre in Bruges. The new venue is located in the historical centre of the Belgian city, within easy walking distance of most hotels and tourist sights. It will open its doors at the end of 2021, and cost around €40 million. From Boardroom…
Adelaide is celebrating 75 secured meetings so far this year, which are expected to bring in around 28,000 delegates and AU$136 million to the South Australia capital. The Adelaide Convention Bureau says the longer term benefits of hosting the events include attracting trade and inward investment. From Association Meetings International…
Ottawa Tourism and The Hague Convention Bureau have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will bring the two cities’ convention offerings closer together over the coming years. The agreement was initially discussed five years ago at the ICCA Congress in Antalya, and both organisations have since then sought ways to cooperate. From Meetings International…
Davos is perhaps best known for staging the World Economic Forum, which gathers around 3,000 leading figures from business, politics and science every year. As such, it also has the expertise and capacity to host association events, as Professor Geoff Richards, Director of the AO Research Institute Davos, can testify. From Boardroom…
The shame and stigma of mental illness need to be addressed within the events industry. That was the call at UK Event Wellbeing Week 2019 in London. One idea raised was that clients might foster change, as they increasingly ask about work culture in RFIs (requests for information). From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Glasgow will be welcoming 30,000 delegates, among them 200 world leaders, to discuss climate change at COP26 next year. The Glasgow Convention Bureau has also just reported best ever year-end results for conference business, attracting as well incentive and motivational events like KFC’s RGM Fest. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Edinburgh has just shored up its ambition to become the “data capital” of Europe by hosting ESOMAR Congress 2019. The global data and insights summit at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre attracted more than 1,200 international delegates, and over 3,600 online viewers. The Scottish capital is considered the UK’s fastest growing tech hub. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
Dubai is strengthening its networks to become a meetings hub in medical sciences. The emirate’s healthcare and pharmaceutical industries are set to be worth $71.3 billion by 2020. Convention bureau Dubai Business Events has signed six Memorandums of Understanding so far in 2019 to attract more meetings to the city. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
France’s Art Nouveau capital, Nancy, has jumped on the sustainability agenda and is emerging as a premier locale for green meetings. The Prouvé Congress Center boasts a roof covered in solar panels and a bee farm. The trend towards green initiatives trickles through the rest of the city, and its convention bureau as well. From Boardroom…
This is the third year in which IMEX has had an annual “Talking Point”, a thread and a story that runs through both shows and all year long. In 2017, the concept was “Purposeful Meetings”, which was followed by “Legacy” in 2018. To help demonstrate this year’s idea of “Imagination” in concrete and practical terms, IMEX…
CWT M&E’s 2020 Future Trends in Meetings and Events probes into the shifting currents that will frame meetings and events in 2020. It examines how global and regional marketplaces are evolving, to inspire you and keep your M&E program always a step ahead. 2020 Future Trends in Meetings and Events (CWT M&E website, registration required) CWT…
Europe as a Destination for Meetings and Conferences is in the focus of a recent study that looks at challenges and opportunities in a changing environment as a basis for developing hands-on recommendations for action. In an age of complexity creativity and flexibility are key With the aim of analysing Europe’s medium-term to long-term market…
Latest research about trends in incentive travel shows that “soft power” (meaning persuasion rather than coersion) is now competing with sales and the bottom line as a key driver in the industry. The 2019 Incentive Travel Industry Index’s preliminary results were revealed at IMEX America in Las Vegas. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
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