The UK has announced an insurance scheme for events, the government joining with Lloyd’s as a “reinsurer”, to make sure commercial insurers can offer products event planners require. The scheme will support gatherings like music festivals and business events, covering risks of cancellation under any pandemic restrictions. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
With Expo 2020 Dubai opening in October, the emirate is poised to welcome major corporate and incentive groups intending to let delegates explore the show during their visit. The new Dubai Exhibition Centre within the Expo 2020 site will also host several important events, including the Dubai Association Conference. From Meetings International…
Delegates hoping to attend an association conference in Europe may be asked to produce a “COVID pass” as more governments impose restrictions on unvaccinated people meeting indoors. The rapid spread of the Delta variant has spooked leaders kickstarting their battered economies while protecting the gains made by the vaccines. From Association Meetings International…
An early casualty of the pandemic, Mobile World Congress 2021 has welcomed back 20,000 on site delegates to host city Barcelona, with 100,000 taking part virtually. The show made news in February last year when organisers GSMA made a late call to cancel as the pandemic started to spread. From Association Meetings International…
The pandemic offers a chance for the global business events sector to reinvent itself. So says a white paper and recovery roadmap just jointly released by PCMA, the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau, Singapore Tourism Board, as well as Iceberg partner UFI. But the paper also details havoc already wreaked upon the industry. From PCMA…
The UK government’s full Events Research Programme report was finally published following mounting pressure from the industry and MPs. Phase I recorded only 28 COVID-19 cases across nine pilot events with 58,000 participants. The Liverpool business event pilot chosen, Change Business for Good (pictured), saw no transmission cases. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
When a US academic recently asked on Twitter whether our professional organisations should have vaccine and mask requirements at their on site meetings this autumn, the result was unexpectedly definitive. It also sets the stage for a challenging few months ahead, for the organisations, for destination local authorities, and also for attendees. From PCMA…
When a healthcare meeting chose to require verification of COVID-19 vaccination for attendees, it had to figure out how to do so in practice. The HIMSS21 conference just held used CLEAR Health Pass Validation and Safe Expo Vaccine Concierge Validation to verify status of staff, vendors and attendees. From Associations Now…
The new Society for Incentive Travel Excellence in Great Britain President, Chris Parnham, has urged UK event professionals to get fully COVID-19 vaccinated and to see the act as an extension of their passport. In a call to echo globally, Parnham suggests they choose to help or hinder sector recovery. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
As more meetings return fully in person or as hybrid with in person components, there is the chance that someone will test positive for COVID-19 following attendance. Having a plan to deal with this is crucial, and that plan begins by helping delegates understand to whom to report the information. From Associations Now…
On paper, travelling to meetings is less friendly to the environment than meeting virtually. But events face-to-face have value add hard to quantify. Human interaction is vital for challenging entrenched ways of doing business. To tackle climate change, we must surely collaborate in person as well as online. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were the most expensive to date, and too big to fail, despite ongoing challenges from the pandemic. Gary Grimmer, the Executive Chairman of Iceberg partner GainingEdge, says they make a timely case study for planners and destinations in the new paradigm of broadcast-friendly hybrid events. From Meetings & Conventions Asia…
The Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe has published an update of its 2020 study on The Impact of Coronavirus on Europes Convention Sector. The new report, prepared by Tourism Economics, provides three recovery scenarios to reflect the possible range of developments given the level of uncertainty about how the pandemic situation…
Convention bureaus have operated as key stakeholders in the meetings industry for over a century, assuming major responsibility for marketing their cities, regions and countries as destinations for the hosting of business events, from small corporate gatherings to the vast annual conferences organised by international associations. During all of that time it has been clearly…
In April’s survey against March’s, much of the sector is experiencing a sense of languish. In the month between the two, vaccinations in the US (where the majority of survey respondents live) have averaged around three million shots a day, certainly the country’s best chance of recovery. Yet seven percent fewer planner respondents reported feeling hopeful…
The health and safety of event attendees has always been a big consideration for meeting professionals. The COVID-19 outbreak, however, has brought health and safety into focus like never before. As many organisations consider resuming incentive group travel programs, health and safety is the most talked about element and an area of uncertainty as COVID…
To mark Global Meetings Industry Day, Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance and the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) have joined together to help associations articulate their new hybrid congress guidelines. In the wake of the pandemic, associations must rethink the design and delivery of events to make sure they can bring together international…
Chapter IV of Beyond Food looks at the devastating effect of the pandemic on the conference and events market, and at how the industry is addressing a new way of working post-COVID. Beyond Food: Beyond COVID-19 (Lime Venue Portfolio website, registration required)
Between February and March, a flurry of news articles predicted a huge surge in leisure travel, sometimes referred to as “revenge travel”, as people celebrate the end of the pandemic, make up for lost time and splurge after the stress of living through COVID. Airlines have reported substantial jumps in air travel demand during March…
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has opened the Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall’s $1 billion expansion to launch Informa Markets’ World of Concrete. The event is the first big convention to return to the destination and the US after the pandemic. LVCC is now the second largest US facility. From Exhibition News…
Global Exhibitions Day has been marked by the industry all over the world. The milestone coincided with Fira Barcelona’s return to activity on site for Integrated Systems Europe. The leading event for the audiovisual industry ran both on site and online. Fira will also soon be hosting Mobile World Congress Barcelona. From Exhibition World…
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