Although it may seem dramatic, the eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano has had little effect on meetings or incentives, the Big Island’s hotels and resorts being on the other side of the island. Meet Hawaii has said that there’s no need to change plans to visit the archipelago’s islands. Photo: Brocken Inaglory. From Successful Meetings…
Once this railway station was Melbourne’s favourite meeting place. Now the Union International des Transports Publics Global Public Transport Summit 2021 is the first event win supported by Australia’s new national bid fund. The four-day meeting will bring 2,000 delegates to the newly expanded Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Photo: Adam J.W.C. From CIM News Magazine…
Delegates from South Africa, Argentina and South Korea were among thirty national or regional politicians and officials engaging with eighty meetings industry leaders at the IMEX Policy Forum. ‘The Legacy of Positive Policy Making’ was the theme of the event, formerly known as the IMEX Politicians Forum, at the InterContinental Hotel Frankfurt. From Meetpie.com…
The largest ever IMEX has opened in Frankfurt with over 40 first time exhibitors, including the Russian Convention Bureau and both the Uganda and Lebanon Ministries of Tourism. Speakers at the opening ceremony included IMEX Group Chairman Ray Bloom and Gloria Guevara Manzo, President and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (pictured). From Meetpie.com…
Australia has recently launched a business events bid fund, and the first meeting it will support, the UITP Global Public Transport Summit, will both be bringing 2,000 delegates to Melbourne in 2021 and deliver AU$9.4 million to Victoria’s economy. John O’Sullivan, Managing Director of Tourism Australia, answers three questions about his country’s approach to meetings. From Boardroom…
The Seattle City Council has voted unanimously to allow work on the expansion of the Washington State Convention Center to go forward. The $1.6 billion project, for which ground will be broken this year, aims to double the size of the facility to more than than 850,000 square feet of space. From Meetings & Conventions…
The Palais des congrès de Montréal has assembled a group of leaders from eight of the city’s significant economic sectors into a Multisector Strategic Taskforce. Their mission will be to establish ties with key influencers who will actively help attract major international meetings to Montreal and to the Palais des congrès de Montréal itself. From Boardroom…
The German events sector continues to grow, with meetings and conferences responsible for 31 percent of business trips. Digitisation and internationalisation are key for the industry, according to the newly-released Meeting & Event Barometer 2017-2018. Delegate growth in 2017 was 2.8 percent, with 405m participants in all. 24 percent of planners are organising hybrid events. From Meetpie.com…
Jeannie Lim, Executive Director of Conventions, Meetings and Incentive Travel at the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau, has been elected Board Chair of BestCities Global Alliance. BestCities is currently planning its third annual Global Forum taking place in Bogotá this December, and the second running of “Incredible Impacts” in partnership with ICCA. From Association Meetings International…
ICC Wales has reached an important milestone, with more than half the steel of the build now in place, including the framework of the 1,500-seat auditorium. The £84 million joint venture between Celtic Manor and the Welsh Government will accommodate 5,000 delegates and bring £70 million a year into the Welsh economy. From Meetpie.com…
Istanbul’s standing as a destination for international association meetings is in tatters, with ICCA’s city rankings suggesting that its popularity for conferences has collapsed. For years the city proudly occupied a top ten position. Because of terrorism and other political turmoil, it dropped first to 39th place, and this year to 133rd. From Association Meetings International…
Barcelona hosted more international association meetings than any other city last year, according to statistics from the International Congress and Convention Association. There is a familiar look to the top five of ICCA’s city rankings, but the Catalonian capital has claimed the headline spot for the first time since 2004. From Association Meetings International…
According to International Congress and Convention Association statistics, the Middle East has been the fastest growing region for hosting international association meetings, even starting from a low base. ICCA has pointed to an eighty percent growth in the engagement of its own Middle East membership as proof. From Association Meetings International…
Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company and ExCeL London are celebrating ten years of ownership following ADNEC’s acquisition of the venue in May 2008. Continuous investment from ADNEC in ExCeL, along with support from London’s convention bureau and the Mayor’s Office, has made the venue and city itself a world-class business events destination. Photo: Senseiich. From Meetpie.com…
Oklahoma City is one step closer to opening a new convention centre, according to local newspaper The Oklahoman. Bids from builders have arrived and are “substantially below budget”, the lowest being for $173.3 million. If the numbers bear out, construction could begin in late spring, with a projected opening by summer 2020. From Successful Meetings…
Despite being a coastal city, Cape Town is fighting the worst drought in its history and has come close to actually running out of water. But even before the problem turned critical, water-related conferences were identifying opportunities for creating legacies in the destination. “Never waste a good crisis” has become the apt motto. From Boardroom…
In 2016 Turkey’s largest city Istanbul claimed eighth spot in ICCA’s much-trumpeted city rankings. Today it is in 133rd place. Over the past 24 months the city has suffered deadly terrorist attacks, a failed coup, and a series of purges against its citizens, including teachers, journalists and lawyers. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
Last year Toronto hosted 951 meetings and events that attracted 400,000 delegates and generated $634 million for the local economy. But business events are too often overlooked in the wider accounting of tourism impact across Canada, as are the ambassador programmes that bring in such meetings to Canadian destinations. From BNN Bloomberg…
The announcement of the Australian Government’s AU$12 million national bid fund is a major turning point for the business events industry. Tourism Australia’s unit Business Events Australia will oversee the fund, which has been made possible in no small part by Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steve Ciobo. From CIM News Magazine…
Seasoned meetings industry veterans always take pleasure in discovering any destination unfairly overlooked. For one Iceberg partner a new find is the Swedish seaport of Gothenburg. Hotel Svenska Massan / Gothia Towers recently held a centenary event for customers from all over Europe “that combined intelligence with stardust”. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
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