The World Economic Forum has pushed back its Annual Meeting in Davos because of COVID-19. The high-profile gathering, booked for January in the Alpine ski resort, will now run either “early next summer” or when WEF can “guarantee the health and safety of our participants and the host community”. From Association Meetings International…
The hybrid multi-site event BOCOM saw players from across Germany’s meetings industry demonstrating readiness for future event formats. Several hundred participants met on-site at the central conference venue in Berlin and at the hubs in Amsterdam, Essen and Vienna, as well as virtually from all continents. From GCB…
In mid-June the Netherlands started to welcome international travellers back to its borders. There is no limit for maximum attendees at meetings and events, but associations even so are wary, and with countries like the US, India and Australia still unable to travel, planners are considering best strategy for the coming autumn. From Boardroom…
The pandemic is forcing so many sectors to rethink how they operate, including business events. So PCMA, the 7,000-member association for the industry, collaborated with the National Speakers Association and also the International Association of Speakers Bureaus on a virtual event addressing new business models. From Forbes…
2020’s RNC (Republican National Convention) offered event industry strategists another opportunity to see how organisers of a high-stakes, big-budget meeting can answer the challenges of capturing audience attention and engagement during the pandemic, still getting criticism over their choice of venues and lack of social distancing. From PCMA…
When Marco Oelschlegel became head of Berlin’s Convention Bureau in January 2020, neither he nor the rest of the world knew how difficult and strange the coming few months would be. So just how has the start of his new role ended up being, and what is Berlin’s “new normal” like? From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Bulb, a UK-based sustainable event consultancy, has released a guide to help meeting organisers to navigate the “new normal” and make sure the progress made in creating a sustainable industry is not lost. The increase in need for PPE (personal protective equipment) has seen a rise in plastic pollution. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
2020’s DNC (Democratic National Convention) made history for being the first time a US national political convention was held online. For any professional working in the events industry, it was an historic chance to watch and learn from a high-profile, all-or-nothing experiment in how to capture audience attention and engagement. From PCMA…
While some associations are adapting quicker than others, there remains a general misconception on what is a virtual event. Is it anything as simple as a giant Zoom call, or does it entail more than that? Can simply renting a platform solve everything? What is the role now of event planners? Creating a virtual congress is as…
Earlier this year, the Incentive Research Foundation published the results of a pulse survey fielded between April 2nd and April 16th COVID-19’s Impact on the Incentive Travel Industry (April 2020). Given the continued challenges for the industry related to the pandemic, IRF fielded a study between July 1st and July 15th, 2020 to understand the…
As part of the #aNewTomorrow initiative, Iceberg partner ECM (European Cities Marketing) invited ten Long Thinkers – experts in their fields, industry influencers and purposeful changemakers – to look further ahead, beyond thee crisis and towards a New Tomorrow for tourism and destinations. These are now all compiled in this catalogue and shared anew. A…
In an effort to kickstart the market, associations and prominent leaders in the sector have joined together to create and support UKickstart Event 2020 in September. The multi-hub free-to-attend live and virtual event is the first big national face-to-face gathering of meeting professionals since lockdown. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Informa Markets has postponed CPhI South East Asia to May 2021. The event had been scheduled for November 2020 in Maung Thong Thani, Thailand. The meeting is set to return to the Impact Arena next year, and Informa will also create a CPhI South East Asia matchmaking platform online. From Exhibition World…
AAPX (the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo) and the co-located SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association Show) have together cancelled their shows due to run this November in Las Vegas. Virtual options will be explored. The loss of CES 2021 is now compounded by a further hit of $259 million and about 160,000 attendees. From Exhibition World…
COVID-19 has had a heavy impact on the meetings industry in Italy, which has come to a virtual stop after five years of steady growth, according to new research. 69.7 percent of all events have been cancelled, 16.9 percent deferred until 2021 and only 13.4 percent postponed until autumn. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
International association meetings, particularly those that are attracting thousands of delegates, were once the prized targets of all convention bureaux. COVID-19 has made the immediate future smaller and more regional. But this trend was already underway and should not frighten destination marketing organisations. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
After months of conference calls, webinars and online meetings, we recognise perhaps more than ever the role that business events play in exchanging ideas, building networks and fuelling innovation. So explains Chantal Sturk-Nadeau, Executive Director of Business Events at Destination Canada. From PCMA…
Nostalgia inhibits our imagination, according to Martin Sirk, Iceberg partner Global Association Hubs’ International Advisor. Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, says The Iceberg. Here Martin offers some innovative brainstorming of future meeting concepts in which associations could play leading roles. From Association Meetings International…
The Events Industry Council just released the “Meeting and Event Design Accepted Practices Guide” (see Research). More guides are to come from the EIC powered APEX COVID-19 Business Recovery Task Force. A webcast offered insights and answered audience questions about the new document. From Northstar Meetings Group…
When the United Fresh Produce Association cancelled its annual convention and expo this spring, organisers quickly put the content online. The scramble proved to be so successful that the association has kept it going, turning a one-off event into an online platform with permanent expo, social gatherings and on-demand education. From PCMA…
As associations continue to stage virtual conferences because of COVID-19, many are concerned about replicating the interaction, networking, engagement and hallway conversations that are staples of face-to-face events. During a webcast from Iceberg partner ASAE, presenters shared five tips on how to achieve them. From Associations Now…
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