The head of tourism association Destinations International says his organisation spends a lot of its energy and resources doing battle with politicians around the world on behalf of members facing financial and legislative challenges. CEO Don Welch was speaking out at IMEX about issues like “over-tourism” and womens’ and LGBTQ rights. From Association Meetings International…
At the recent CEO Summit held in London by Iceberg partner UFI, Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism Saif Saeed Ghobash explained how international business events and exhibitions play a key role in diversifying the emirate’s economy away from petrochemicals. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
There is widespread disagreement over what legacy means when it comes to international meetings, and no consistency in terms of how either associations or destinations approach the subject. So says a new study by various Danish convention bureaux, and meetings consultancy and Iceberg partner GainingEdge, released at IMEX in Frankfurt. From Association Meetings International…
A thunderstorm delaying flights failed to deter meetings industry professionals in their thousands from gathering at IMEX in Frankfurt on Tuesday May 21st. Association congress organisers were already in the city having taken part at the ICCA Association Experts Seminar over the weekend and at IMEX Association Day on Monday. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Corne Koch, the head of the Cape Town and Western Cape Convention Bureau, a division of Wesgro, has been elected Board Chair of the BestCities Global Alliance. Koch made her first appearance in the new position at the BestCities media breakfast at IMEX Frankfurt, and takes over from Jeannie Lim of Singapore. From the Event…
After IMEX 2019 opened in Frankfurt with EduMonday and Association Day (pictured), the Alliance of Brain Cities, a group of four Scandinavian destinations, held a breakfast for twenty international associations. Attendees at the meeting expressed enthusiastic support for choosing second-tier cities for their events, and for destination transparency and sustainability. From Meetings International…
Hangzhou has held the largest ever China International Tea Expo, a 70,000 square metre exhibition bringing together government delegations from 30 well-known tea plantations. The show was organised by Shenzhen HJC Industrial Group, and co-hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China and the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
At IMEX Frankfurt last week the usual sector promotion and celebration was clearly on display. Concern about the industry’s future, though, was also common in discussion, particularly on sustainability and the health of group bookings overall. The former has become an area of increasing focus, with the aim of reducing future political risk. From Skift…
Matthias Schultze, the Managing Director of the German Convention Bureau, is adamant that meetings and events’ environmental impact on the world needs to be addressed in their design. Here he discusses Germany’s approach to sustainability and findings on its importance in GCB’s Meeting & Event Barometer. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Harrogate Convention Centre in Yorkshire has hosted more than 320 suppliers from UK and Ireland at the ExploreGB event, together with at least 250 international organisations from 31 countries. Peter Dodd, the Commercial Director of Welcome to Yorkshire, offers a north of England events perspective. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Organisers have unveiled a sneak peek of the Dubai Exhibition Centre, set to host the six-month-long World Expo 2020 from October next year. Other legacy constructions that were built for the sole purpose of hosting the World Expo include Paris’ Eiffel Tower, London’s Crystal Palace and Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building. From Association Meetings International…
The GSMA Mobile 360 Series – Eurasia conference, a regional event run by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, will be held in Moscow later this year. It follows last year’s successful debut in the same city, which gathered more than 600 attendees, over half of them director-level or above. From Association Meetings International…
For the first time, the total economic impact of exhibitions around the world has been calculated by Iceberg partner UFI, the industry’s global association. With an output of $325 billion in business sales every year, the sector matches many industries, and ranks equal to the 56th largest economy in the world. From the Event…
To quantify the economic significance of exhibitions globally, Oxford Economics has prepared a comprehensive model of global exhibitions activity that references recent studies on their economic significance. The results of this study show the scope of the global exhibition sector in terms of direct spending and jobs, as well as the total impacts of exhibitions…
The Event Africa, in partnership with The Iceberg, presents a case study on the Tanzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center. GICEC capitalises on its intellectual resources and has purpose-built a venue to serve local industry by enabling trade on a global platform. This includes GICEC’s Robotation Academy, housed on site. From the Event…
VisitBritain’s flagship business event MeetGB has been held in Windsor, and VisitScotland Expo has said that its recent staging was one of the biggest since the event began life in 1980. The exhibition took place at Glasgow’s SEC over two days, and saw 340 businesses showcasing products to over 550 buyers. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
World Travel Market Africa 2019 has been held at CTICC (the Cape Town International Convention Centre), with thousands of exhibitors and buyers from across the globe attending the leading travel and tourism event in the continent. The meeting included both the African Responsible Travel Awards, and two-day Business Case for Responsible Tourism conference. From the Event…
Centaur Media Travel and Meetings is to be sold to Northstar Travel Media UK for £9.25 million. The company’s 25-year-old Business Travel Show is claimed to be the largest event of its kind in Europe, while its flagship The Meetings Show is said to be the UK market leader. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Cannabis Expo has just lit up Cape Town for four days, as visitors to Sun Exhibits, GrandWest, arrived and learnt about this rapidly growing industry. Over 16,500 attended the show, even more than visited its inaugural staging in Pretoria. The expo heads to Durban this June. From the Event…
Over nine million guests have visited the Vancouver Convention Centre from across the world in its ten year history, generating more than $2.4 billion in direct spend for British Columbia. The events held at the venue include TED conferences, trade shows, corporate meetings, banquets and fundraisers. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Thailand’s aspiration to become a leading pharmaceutical destination has received a shot in the arm with the country recently hosting the CPhI Southeast Asia trade show. Organiser UBM brought the event to Bangkok for the first time in conjunction with the Thai Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and Board of Investment. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
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