Aberdeen Convention and Events Bureau’s Graeme Mackay, Senior Business Development Executive, sees collaboration as the best way to navigate the current pandemic. The Scottish seaport is part of the Energy Cities Alliance (along with Abu Dhabi, Calgary, Lausanne and Stavanger), an example of just such collaboration in action. From Boardroom…
Toulouse recently joined Iceberg partner the Global Destination Sustainability Index, which measures and benchmarks cities’ green strategy and performance. The opening of the new LEED certified MEETT Convention Centre, scheduled for the end of 2020, shows the environmental commitment of the city’s partners. From Boardroom…
Certification from the Global BioRisk Advisory Council, part of worldwide cleaning industry association ISSA, could help to restart face-to-face events and assuage any attendee concerns. The USA’s two largest convention venues, the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando and McCormick Place Chicago, have signed up. From Northstar Meetings Group…
In Iceberg partner ICCA’s annual rankings for international meetings, Paris has taken the top spot for the second year in a row, pulling even further ahead of other European destinations. The city’s dominance validates the work of both the local sector and the Conference Unit of the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau. From Meetings International…
Iceberg partner ICCA’S statistics for 2019 list 13,254 rotating association meetings, the highest ever figure in the annual tally, and an increase of 317 over 2018’s record peak. ICCA has seen consistent annual growth in association meetings, and the statistics are the most respected global comparison of destination performance in attracting them. From Meetings International…
Expo 2020 Dubai will now shape a post-pandemic world and create a better future from October 1st 2021 to March 31st 2022. While the vote technically remains open until May 29th, already two-thirds of all of the Bureau International des Expositions member states have opted to delay the event by a year. From the Event…
The 2023 Gateshead Quays arena, conference and exhibition centre has passed a major milestone with Gateshead Council’s development partner Ask:PATRIZIA submitting a planning application for the venue. The £260 million build is hoped to add over 1,000 jobs and £29 million GVA to the regional economy every year. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Less than one month after Iceberg partner ICCA and CIMERT (Center of International Meetings Research and Training) began studying the effects of COVID-19 on the events industry, a first report has been released. The document maps pandemic impact on meetings across the world. From Association Meetings International…
Many of COVID-19’s implications, not least restrictions on travel and social distancing, cut to the heart of what incentive travel is and pose the question: will the pandemic in fact end incentive travel? It will not, and for now here are five avenues for the market to pursue. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
Event professionals will need to have a flexible mindset and to adapt and evolve business practice in a world after the pandemic. So said Patrick Smith, Senior Vice President and CMO of Cvent, during EduMonday on PlanetIMEX, Iceberg partner IMEX Group’s new virtual platform. From Meetings International…
What might face-to-face meetings with neither a coronavirus vaccine nor effective treatment look like? Perhaps signing a waiver releasing the organiser from liability, an initial COVID-19 test and then daily checks of temperature? Those are some of the requirements of Metrock’s Voice of Healthcare Summit 2020 set for Boston this August. From PCMA…
“The new normal” is an irritating phrase that has entered common parlance since lockdown measures began to contain further spread of COVID-19. While the transition to virtual events is a “new normal” we can take seriously, not much else of the “new normal” is “normal” at all. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
Adapt, survive, thrive. Not a choice, but a necessity in the future. So says Smyle Founder and Group Executive Director Rick Stainton, here offering a long-range view on assessing the current economic conditions, lower delegate appetite for business travel, and the role in the mix of virtual and hybrid. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
As the COVID-19 crisis has persisted, so has came the slow realisation that its impact will linger a very long time indeed. What does this mean for the exhibition sector in the future? Reed Exhibition’s former Chairman and CEO Mike Rusbridge, and former Commercial Director Nick Forster, offer thoughts. From UFI…
As the world’s population grows, the percentage of people living in cities is rising steadily. The future success of humanity is therefore more and more tied to, and even defined by, the future success of the city as a model. In that, of course, business events have a critical role to play. Professor Greg Clark has…
In a move sure to be replicated across all destination marketing, the Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB), partnering with the country’s State Tourism and Food Safety Agencies, has launched SAHMAN (Sanitation and Hygiene Methods and Norms). PwC is to audit the initiative, which will cover all aspects of tourism. From Meetings International…
Expo 2020 Dubai’s postponement will allow time to reflect on how to improve people’s lives after current COVID-19 challenges subside. So says Dimitri Kerkentzes, Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which has in principle agreed to postponing the event until 2021. An official vote will complete on May 29th. From Meetings International…
Iceberg partner IMEX Group has announced the creation of a virtual experience featuring 3D interactive islands called PlanetIMEX. Launching on May 6th, the platform will offer free access to a variety of industry content on community, education and networking islands, the first two available on the launch date. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
A key activity for over 35 percent of eventprofs now working from home is improving their education. Sector recovery may be quite quick, with a venue capacity shortage into 2021. So say a briefing from The Business of Events and a survey from Business Visits & Events Partnership. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The conscription of venues as field hospitals can be seen as one of the grimmer aspects of the COVID-19 crisis, but can also foster optimism and hope. Ana Carrazon, Congress Sales and Logistics Expert at IFEMA Feria de Madrid, has been working as a volunteer at the IFEMA Hospital. From Association Meetings International…
BIE (the Bureau International des Expositions) has just unanimously agreed to postponing Expo 2020 Dubai. The rescheduled event will become a global celebration that the COVID-19 crisis is over. There are precedents for postponement across the past history of world fairs, and Dubai’s own back catalogue has seen other milestone events. From Meetings International…
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