Over 35 policy makers from nineteen countries gathered at the IMEX Policy Forum 2022, held on May 31st as part of IMEX in Frankfurt. The meeting takes place annually and provides a collaborative, global discussion platform to encourage policy creation that directly benefits the global meetings and business events industry. The aim of this year’s…
There is still a compelling need to meet in person, but post-pandemic travel has to be business critical to justify the financial and carbon cost. So says a new report from Accor. It claims twenty percent of business meetings “may have gone forever”. But virtual meeting technology is one silver lining. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Over 40 percent of associations will hold their largest meeting in person this year, according to a survey by ICCA (the International Congress and Convention Association). But only 35.6 percent told the Iceberg partner that it was “very important” to “reduce the environmental impact of their event”. From Association Meetings International…
There is nothing like a face-to-face gathering to conduct business, says an RX global study. Face-to-face remains a key priority for survey respondents, with 78 percent of businesses stating trade shows offer them something unique that cannot be created elsewhere. This number is up from 68 percent in 2021. From Trade Show Executive…
Hopin has laid off 29 percent of employees, merely four months after the virtual events startup let another twelve percent of staff go. Once valued at $7.8 billion, Hopin is one of several online platforms that thrived over the pandemic but that has since seen a slowdown in its growth. From Conference News…
Event technology platform Bizzabo has laid off 120 employees, or thirty percent of its 400-strong workforce, reacting to what it called the “swift economic downturn”. Meanwhile, AI and transcription unicorn Verbit laid off sixty members of staff, about ten percent of total, following a period of rapid growth. From Association Meetings International…
Over a hundred parties made a pledge at COP26 to reduce the carbon emissions created by the events industry. The coalition has doubled in size since that time. Kai Hattendorf, the President of Iceberg partner UFI and former Chair of the Joint Meetings Industry Council (which presents The Iceberg), helped make it happen. From PCMA…
Jaimé Bennett, PCMA’s Regional Director of EMEA, was taken on a tour during her site visit to Vienna earlier this year. The aim was to find places Convening EMEA participants could explore during the meeting. One was a café which helps older residents augment their pensions and social lives through baking. From PCMA…
The UK has experienced red weather warnings and unprecedented high temperatures of late, with services shut down and events postponed. Europe and the United States have also suffered. Liz Taylor, the CEO of event management firm the Taylor Lynn Corporation, has sweated over the best solutions to keep delegates cool. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
On the back of a flash survey, Editor James Lancaster talks with Loren Edelstein, VP Content Director at Northstar Meetings Group, about how the US Supreme Court’s about turn on Roe v. Wade could inflence where international associations meet, and whether organisations should be being political about site selection. Photo: Ted Eytan. From Association Meetings International…
During the pandemic, uncertainty was a daily torment for association meeting planners. With the threat of lockdown ended in most countries, the market is approaching business pre-pandemic. But organisers are also caught between a labour and skills crisis plus rocketing inflation. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
The Editorial Director Martin Fullard recently visited Scotland to find out how important business events are to the region. He talked to some of the country’s leading eventprofs, learning about VisitScotland’s new and improved “Policy Driven Model”, its “Journey to Change” project, and how universities are helping to bring in business events. From Conference News…
There are signs the event tech goldrush is already over. How quickly organisers harness the potential of online meetings will determine the size of any returns in future. William Thomson, Founder of Gallus Events and Practically Perfect PA, examines how the sector is now facing something of a reckoning. From Association Meetings International…
The AIPC Facility Operations Summit provides an engaging forum for issues and opportunities associated with a new era of growing digitization of the industry and implications this has for centre management. Amongst the areas to be explored will be what’s trending in event logistics, risk and crowd management, security and cybersecurity, changing tech requirements, responding to new event…
The first IMEX in Frankfurt since 2019 was marked by an outrush of camaraderie, celebration, and most importantly, business. The Iceberg partner CEO Carina Bauer hailed a succcessful show and said that the future looks bright for the industry, while also acknowledging that the current business climate is rather challenging. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The seventh edition of GED (Global Exhibitions Day) on 1st June 2022 celebrated the manner exhibitions and face-to-face business events drive the global economy. GED this year focused on facilitating growth and recovery, and was marked by the Messe Frankfurt team during IMEX (pictured), amongst many others. From Exhibition World…
Daegu in South Korea hosted the 2013 World Energy Congress, often referred to as the “Energy Olympics”. The meeting built upon long-term city strategy in solar power and upon staging earlier events in the sector. It went on to create multiple legacies to shape Daegu’s future. By Jane Vong Holmes, Senior Manager Asia, GainingEdge. Two…
There is no denying events have changed because of the pandemic, as have the wants and needs of both organisers and attendees within the healthcare space. So, what are the key changes, and the trends we are seeing in terms of the way that the industry approaches them? From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
In the film world, “slap” once meant make–up, slapstick comedy, or the slap of a clapperboard synchronising picture and sound. But for meeting planners, a rather different slapping incident at the 2022 Oscars reveals the need to have a full emergency response plan and code of conduct in place. From Associations Now…
Meeting organisers will often make blanket assumptions about which accessibility services participants, including speakers, will need. A very common wrong assumption is that all deaf people know sign language, then failing as well to understand how COVID mask-wearing affects event participation for delegates who lip-read. From PCMA…
Iceberg partner European Cities Marketing has just staged its International Conference and General Assembly in Hamburg, rebranding during the event as the City Destinations Alliance. The meeting formulated policy on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, also making a video of solidarity, and held a remarkable session hearing from two industry colleagues based in Lviv, Ukraine. Russia’s…
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