In what way does the purpose of DMCs (Destination Management Companies) change in a market disrupted by the Internet? What happens when the core value proposition of “local knowledge, expertise and connections” is accessible, sometimes more efficiently and affordably, via other platforms? From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
England and Scotland have many established convention centres, but finding a home for one in Wales was problematic until Celtic Manor went fifty-fifty with the Welsh government on the £83 million ICC Wales. CEO Ian Edwards runs through the long consultation process that decided what the new venue should be. From Association Meetings International…
Mubarak Al Shamsi, Director of the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, has been speaking about the emirate’s Economic Vision 2030, and the part played in it by business events. New infrastructure includes Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company’s The Hive, and its 80-seat auditorium The Collaboratorium. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Iceberg is now identifying and celebrating the greater mass of hard-to-see business events legacies that lie hidden beneath the surface in a new podcast “Below the Waterline”. In the third of a series featuring major meetings industry players, Iceberg founder James Latham catches up with Sissi Lygnou, CEO, Operations and Development, at AFEA Travel & Congress…
New Zealand has won its bid to host the 2023 10th World Avocado Congress. The five-day conference will bring the world’s leading avocado growers, researchers, marketers, tech innovators and investors to New Zealand. The bid was led by NZ Avocado, with a video message from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
It’s not as easy to get to Kathmandu as it is to Brussels or Barcelona. But the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition accepted such logistical challenges with its 19th General Membership Meeting this March. The event drew 300 experts and over 60 speakers from around the world, also leaving a major local legacy. From Boardroom…
The IBTM World Trends Watch Report by Rob Davidson and Ali Turner is an insightful compendium of data that crosses business, industries, economies and geographies within the global meetings and events industry. The IBTM World Trends Watch Report 2019 (IBTM World website) Virtual Experience Economy Set to Grow, Says IBTM Trends Watch Report (Meetings & Incentive Travel…
During 2018 MeetDenmark, with consultancy and Iceberg partner GainingEdge, began a major project on outreach. The purpose was to identify how Danish destinations can create significant added value for the international associations coming to Denmark. The objective is to help associations achieve greater impacts in fulfilling their own goals and missions while also strengthening the…
UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, has launched its first in-depth research study of the sector landscape in Latin America. The Exhibition Industry in Latin America provides neutral, up-to-date information, and will support the future activities of UFI members and the wider industry in the region. The first edition of the research was…
The European League Against Rheumatism is taking its huge congress to Frankfurt for the first time in almost two decades, after a city-wide effort to win the bid. More than 15,000 delegates are expected to attend the four-day meeting at Messe Frankfurt in June 2020, putting the city firmly on the medical-meetings map. From Association Meetings International…
Monaco’s meetings industry goes from strength to strength with a rise of 5.4 percent in business events during 2019. The principality has focused on continually improving services in the sector, which makes up 25 percent of the economy. The growth is also thanks to the Grimaldi Forum, which is set to be extended. From Boardroom…
During 2019, the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre successfully attracted ten major international events due to be held in Malaysia between 2020 and 2025. These meetings, from the energy, medical and education sectors, are expected to be attended by more than 17,300 participants. The venue’s recent expansion contributed to its wins. From Boardroom…
Toronto’s Leaders Circle has just honoured thirteen local experts, from fields including atomic physics and human rights, for their role in bringing international meetings to the Canadian city. Together these experts helped to secure eight major events that will leave lasting legacies in Toronto and Ontario. From Boardroom…
Silicon Valley start-up “wordly”, which uses voice recognition and artificial intelligence to translate between 15 languages, has won the Iceberg partner IBTM World’s Tech Watch Award. The interpretation app was praised by judges for helping event planners reduce costs by eliminating the need to hire translators in sound-proof booths. From Association Meetings International…
Heike Mahmoud, Chief Operating Officer of CCH (Congress Center Hamburg), has won JMIC’s Profile and Power Award for being “an inspiring symbol of influential women” in the meetings industry. She accepted the honour at the Meetings Leadership Summit of Iceberg partner IBTM World. The Joint Meetings Industry Council presents The Iceberg. From Association Meetings International…
Meeting professionals are feeling less optimistic about the future. So says MPI’s quarterly Outlook Survey for November 2019, which shows positive sentiment at lowest levels since before the 2008 financial crisis. Other responses note that meetings are getting shorter, more frequent and more niche, but that audiences are getting bigger. From Association Meetings International…
The virtual experience economy is set for big growth, according to the annual IBTM World Trends Watch Report. The complete study, which analyses the future of the events industry, was compiled using over 25 existing data sources and was unveiled on the first day of Iceberg partner IBTM World in Barcelona. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Visit Flanders and the region’s five major destinations (Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Leuven, and Mechelen) have joined Iceberg partner the Global Destination Sustainability Index. Along with Brussels, the Flemish cities now become part of the measurement and benchmarking sustainability movement which comprises 56 cities worldwide. From Boardroom…
Marketing Cheshire’s “Brilliant Science” programme has helped it win the Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology September 2020 40th anniversary event. “Brilliant Science” makes the most of the region’s scientific heritage and links, to develop the North West as a hub for international association congresses. From Association Meetings International…
ACC Liverpool has announced major bid wins of both new and returning association congresses until 2023. Among the conferences heading to the destination is NHS Providers, a three-year deal, and the Royal College of Physicians’ annual conference in 2021. The British Oncology Pharmacy Association, BOPA, will return in 2021. From Association Meetings International…
In advance of IBTM World 2019, just staged in Barcelona, interest from new exhibitors more than doubled compared to 2018. More than 2,600 exhibitors took stands at the Iceberg partner event, 35 of them coming from destinations that hadn’t before, including Greece, Azerbaijan, Macau, South Korea and Croatia. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
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