Ambassadors help destinations secure international association meetings. So Edinburgh’s meetings industry has an anxious wait ahead of a council vote on budget cuts that could virtually wipe out the city’s marketing and lead to the closure of Convention Edinburgh and its ambassador scheme. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
Elliott Ferguson, President and CEO of Destination DC (as well as the new National chair of the US Travel Association), has been speaking about his city’s future strategy and new developments. Washington DC is the US number one spot for international association meetings, according to the last ICCA Statistics Report. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
While the Edinburgh Convention Bureau’s future funding lies under threat, so the city has also voiced the idea of a £2 per person nightly “room tax”. Some see this as a welcome source of new revenue, but will any get back to marketing, and what about competitiveness? From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Iceberg is publishing a series of interviews about the globalisation of large associations. These are jointly produced by partners Boardroom and the Global Association Hubs Partnership. Nicolas Fleury, Deputy Secretary-General of the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardisation, describes ISO’s opening up of a regional office in Singapore. From Global Association Hubs Partnership…
London and Paris are collaborating to offer a range of travel products aimed at North American incentive buyers. Specialised itineraries of the two-in-one incentive trip have been created allowing delegates to experience new cultural attractions, restaurants and hotels in both capital cities. This includes an official partnership with Eurostar. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Academics across Edinburgh have slammed proposed budget cuts that would see an 89 percent drop in the capital’s marketing over the next two years as well as the closure of its ambassador programme. Over 75 Edinburgh ambassadors contacted the City Council objecting to the proposal to slash Marketing Edinburgh’s budget by £790,000. From Association Meetings International…
Events industry guru Christian Mutschlechner (above right) has now retired as head of the Vienna Convention Bureau after 27 years. 250 people attended a farewell event in Vienna, some from as far afield as the USA and Uruguay, both to celebrate his career and welcome successor Christian Woronka. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…
As The Iceberg reported in October, the Swiss regions of Lausanne and Montreux have joined forces to create the joint Lausanne Montreux Congress. Two LMC representatives, Director Lausanne Tourisme Steeve Pasche and Director Montreux-Vevey Tourisme Christoph Sturny, have been speaking exclusively about their future plans. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Last year the Aotea Centre (above) in Auckland hosted over 1,400 leading scientists and researchers for the 11th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production. Auckland Advocate Alliance member and Massey University Professor of Animal Science Hugh Blair was the local committee chair, and integral to winning the conference. From Boardroom…
The branded plane that flew the foolhardy to the Fyre Festival in 2017 was just one footnote in the event disaster to end them all. After Fyre’s calamitous collapse, and the organiser’s imprisonment for fraud and $26 million fine, two new TV documentaries dissect every event planner’s worst nightmare. Photo: John Klos. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The latest figures from Dubai Business Events show 261 meeting bids won in 2018, up 24 percent on 2017. This success also marks a whopping 62 percent increase over the previous year in the number of delegates set to visit the emirate, and a shift towards larger-scale events. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
The Bilbao Exhibition Centre has become a full member of Iceberg partner the International Congress and Convention Association. The first event at which BEC will take part as a member will be the General Assembly of the Iberian Chapter (Spain and Portugal), in Oporto in April, along with over sixty delegates. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre delivered a record-breaking RM888 million in revenue during 2018, an 80 percent increase on 2017. The Malaysian venue hosted 1,485 events, and also saw a hike in guests arriving in the city, with a total of 2.18 million, an increase of 49 percent on the previous year. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Kerrin MacPhie, VisitBritain’s Head of Business Events, is seeking to further the organisation’s reach to global markets. MacPhie outlined her plans at the MPI Economic Insights in London. She said VisitBritain was looking to expand around the world and draw buyers from international markets like America. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Convention delegates in Cairns added around AUS$80m to the Australian city’s economy last year, according to a new study. Research into delegate spending and travel habits, commissioned by the Cairns Convention Centre, underlines the financial value of meetings. Events at the venue generated 133,784 room nights. From Association Meetings International…
The Brexit effect is clear in this year’s British Meetings and Events Industry Survey, with the results reflecting the uncertainty being experienced by many markets. When asked whether Brexit would affect the volume or nature of their events, far fewer respondents said they would be unaffected than last year. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Dubai Business Events, the city’s convention bureau, had a fruitful 2018 securing 261 bids, which are set to attract another 153,640 delegates to Dubai over the coming years. The 24 percent increase since 2017 signifies a shift towards larger-scale events, and further cements the emirate as an attractive global business destination. From Boardroom…
A city best known as the seat of the Olympics movement has become the latest member of the Energy Cities Alliance, a marketing consortium of business events destinations. Lausanne’s inclusion marks an apparent shift in emphasis in the consortium towards “sustainable energy solutions”. From Association Meetings International…
Events and meetings transform destinations for the better. The tireless Pádraic Gilligan, Chief Marketing Officer of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence, offers a thought-provoking report from the recent SITE Executive Summit in Rwanda. The country saw a horrific genocide in 1994, and yet today is “incentive-ready”. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
The Global Association Hubs Partnership, founded in Autumn 2015 and an Iceberg partner, brings together four major hubs across America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. As it passes its third anniversary, Brussels, Dubai, Singapore and Washington DC are enjoying association growth of 2.5 percent, well above the global average of 0.9 percent. From Boardroom…
Now companies have to respond almost immediately to bad publicity, overreaction is the danger. When the positive benefits of an activity aren’t understood, the damage can be even greater. Our incentive specialist looks at headlines the sector has weathered and what they say about the real value of incentive travel. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
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