As politicians and policymakers gather at the IMEX Policy Forum in Frankfurt, key partners of The Iceberg are providing a timely reminder of the transformational contribution of business and professional events and their ‘beyond tourism’ benefits. GainingEdge CEO Gary Grimmer and Gregg Talley, President and CEO of the Talley Management Group, discuss what meetings actually…
You might not think that the second man to walk on the moon would need a conference name badge. Back in 2015 Buzz Aldrin addressed the 66th International Astronautical Congress in Jerusalem. Hosted by the Israel Space Agency, the event saw over 2,000 participants brought together from 60 countries, and has left a significant legacy. From Boardroom…
With a network of eight major association destinations, the Hauts-de-France region definitely plays alongside the big champions of the meetings industry. It is also now committed to an ambitious and innovative policy: the Third Industrial Revolution, a concept right at the meeting point of energy transition, digital transformation and new economic models. From Boardroom…
While The Iceberg prefers to write “familiarisation trips”, the rest of the industry seems to stick with the shorter “fam trips”, or sometimes the capital “FAM trips”. Which should be considered correct? One of our more particular partners places the use of that shift key under the microscope. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
It has been seven months since Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, causing widespread devastation and crippling power outages. Now the new Puerto Rico Destination Marketing Organization, a merger of Meet Puerto Rico and the leisure-focused Puerto Rico Tourism Co., says the territory is ready and eager to host group business. Photo: Jaime Olmo. From Meetings & Conventions…
Visit Victoria has welcomed the Victorian Government’s further investment in tourism and events. Building on previous funds, the Victorian 2018/19 budget provides an additional AU$51.1 million for marketing and major events, including AU$21.8 million over two years to ensure Visit Victoria continues to draw lucrative business events to Melbourne. From CIM News Magazine…
Glasgow is to host the 2020 World Congress on Computational Intelligence, a flagship event of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. This brings to twelve the IEEE meetings the city has won since 2015, which have attracted 8,000 delegates in total and contributed £14.8 million to the local economy. From Association Meetings International…
The Vienna Convention Bureau’s end-of-year results have underlined how crucial international association congresses are to a city’s balance sheet. Such events accounted for just 20 percent of meetings. But the segment represented 51 percent of the participants, 74 percent of the overnights and 79 percent of the €1.2 billion impact. From Association Meetings International…
WTM Africa 2018, the continent’s most highly-anticipated travel trade show, has taken place in Cape Town with a record number of exhibitors. The event is a major business facilitator for the region. Content included the new WTM Africa Festivals, the role of women in tourism, and the potential of the local meetings sector. From the Event…
Blackpool saw the biggest growth in UK overnight business travel in 2017, with 55 percent more room nights than in 2016. The upsurge comes ahead of the town’s new £25 million conference and exhibition centre, set to open in 2019. According to new research there is significant growth also from Peterborough, Preston and Bradford. From Meetpie.com…
Dubai is spending $42.5bn on major hotel, theme park and transport projects ahead of international trade fair Expo 2020. The first World Expo staged in the Middle East, the six-month event is forecast to attract up to 300,000 visitors a day, half from abroad, when it opens in October 2020. From CIM News Magazine…
The Prague Convention Bureau says operator Bestsport is building a new congress and cultural centre next to O2 Arena, the existing sports and entertainment venue. The O2 Universum is scheduled to open in mid-2019, and will have 21 halls of different sizes, the largest able to accommodate up to 4,500. From Meetings & Conventions…
Building on the huge success and 100% satisfaction rates of the Global Forum in Dubai & Tokyo, BestCities is delighted to announce Bogotá as the host partner for this year’s event from 9-12 December 2018. Open to senior international association executives (or AMC on behalf of the associations), the Global Forum is the ideal opportunity for decision-makers considering hosting…
To coincide with Global Meetings Industry Day, Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance has announced a new communications strategy to showcase the power of people. Led by the Greater Bogotá Convention Bureau, which will host the BestCities 2018 Global Forum in December, the campaign aims to celebrate the unique role people play in the events industry. From Meetpie.com…
Following the New South Wales Regional Conferencing Develop-ment Grants pilot programme launched last year, the NSW Government has committed a further AU$300,000 to attract or create business events across the State. 4,600 delegates are expected to attend twelve events already funded, and should inject around AU$2 million into communities across NSW. From CIM News Magazine…
One of North America’s biggest startup conferences, Collision, will be relocating to Toronto in 2019. The move is a sign of the growing tech sector importance of the Ontario capital. The event itself has grown rapidly in recent years, from 1,500 attendees in 2014 to an expected 25,000 this year. From The (Toronto) Global and Mail…
Designs for the $860 million expansion of Las Vegas Convention Center have been unveiled to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors. The district’s Phase Two will add 1.4 million square feet to the current facility. In 2017 the centre’s attendees generated $2.1 billion in economic impact for the local economy. From Meetpie.com…
The Prague Convention Bureau is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a new campaign, PCBturns10, which it will showcase at IMEX in May. Since its foundation in 2008, PCB has helped host more than 630 events with an attendance of almost 293,000 delegates, generating 620,000 room nights and more than CZK 1.2 billion. From Meetpie.com…
The total spend by international convention delegates coming to New Zealand rose 17 per cent from 2017 to 2016, despite a drop in total delegate spend from NZ$588 million to NZ$506 million. The Convention Delegate Survey from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment shows that international events are a major growth sector. From CIM News Magazine…
The ‘Legacy of Positive Policy Making’ will be debated at this year’s IMEX Policy Forum when up to 40 policy makers from national and regional governments meet with around 80 meetings industry professionals. The agenda will explore how to bridge the ‘partnership gap’ between governments, both national and local, and the meetings industry. From Meetpie.com…
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