The Committee for Sydney has just launched The Sydney Culture Essays.
Well, now we really have gone global.
In the US, Attorneys General from the District of Columbia and sixteen states filed a brief to uphold the block on Trump Travel Ban II (see News below).
Emirates – whose Dubai hub is a major transit stop for the proscribed countries, and whose passengers are also affected by the ban on larger electronic devices in cabins – said demand has dropped and that it will cut flights to the US from 126 to 101 (see News again). Later it clarified this is “not a permanent arrangement”.
In 2014 I interviewed Emirates’ CCO and marvelled through his window at the long line of gleaming A380s on the Dubai tarmac. So surely these cuts have got to hurt? Well, some in the US claim Emirates’ flights there are actually loss-leaders. Perhaps there is wider aviation industry politics in play here, not just Abu Ivanka al-Amreeki.
Meanwhile United Airlines became a managerial horror story. Take your pick from the scorpion sting or the violent re-accommodation of a passenger and two of his teeth (see both Opinions below). Perhaps the carrier-outer should take lessons in brand management from Pepsi.
In the UK, Prime Minister Theresa May U-turned and called an early general election to consolidate Brexit. She is hoping the country won’t also now do the hokey cokey and turn around. Some in the events industry say it should (see Opinions also).
And – full circle – Australia tightened up visa requirements for skilled workers coming to the country. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said “we are putting Australians first” (sounds vaguely familiar). “It’s essential that we maintain a culture that attracts bright minds to our shores” wrote that great Australian champion of our own industry, Business Events Sydney’s Lyn Lewis-Smith.
Lyn’s words come from a new collection called The Sydney Culture Essays, a veritable masterclass in how a destination should present itself. The Committee for Sydney is behind it, which used to be chaired by… oh yes… Lucy Turnbull, wife of Malcolm. I interviewed her about Sydney in 2015.
In this issue of Business Events World, all of the above… plus IAPCO on changing association business models, Montreux as a hydro hub, plus ROI in Opinions and Visit Florida in News.
Welcome to Boardroom as a partner of The Iceberg, congratulations to the ambassadors just honoured by the Prague Convention Bureau (see photo below)… and – globally – happy International Mother Earth Day.
Robert Coren, Curator of The Iceberg
The Prague Convention Bureau held its eighth Ambassador Awards on 13th April.
Showing Featured Features
View all Features
At PCMA Convening Leaders in Texas, collaborative education by IAPCO (the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers) and the event hosts reinforced the need for global association education strategies to be applied locally. Having a professional congress organizer (PCO) that understands the importance of locally-sourced intellectual capital – and that is aligned to the mission of the association – can…
Sarah Fleming Associates has always maintained that in order to successfully engage a potential buyer and to attract conference business to any city or destination, it is important to be able to put forward a strong business case for holding an event or conference in the city. An effective lead generation programme should therefore focus on…
For more than fifty years the Antwerp Zoo Society has used the proceeds of its event spaces to support a very unique CSR undertaking… the operation of one of the oldest and most important zoological facilities in the world. Now, with the opening of the new Flanders Meeting and Convention Center Antwerp (FMCCA), this commitment will be…
In an emerging economy, sometimes the most valuable role a convention centre can play is one that, while essential to its own success, is also a generator of transferrable skills that will support development in many adjacent areas of the local economy. Such is the case with the Borneo Convention Centre in Kuching, Sarawak, where…
Under the leadership of its first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore became something of an economic miracle for a city-state which only gained independence from Malaysia in 1965. And despite a population of just over five million, the destination has transformed itself from Third World to First World in a single generation. It is now firmly established as a gateway…
Why Sibos and Geneva were the perfect match… The Geneva Convention Bureau has recently restructured its marketing communications and resources in order to align its bids to the city’s growth agenda. It has taken nearly two years to develop the organisational knowledge of – and relations within – the key clusters of industry identified by the Economic Development Office…
Boston has throughout its history been a main gateway for foreign migration into the USA. Now as the treatment of outsiders moves right to the heart of US politics, the President of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce James E Rooney reaffirms the city’s reliance on the innovation that comes with immigration. From Intellectual Capitals…
Showing Featured News
View all News
The most senior lawyers of sixteen US states – and of the District of Columbia – have said President Trump’s revised travel ban would damage both academic and medical institutions… and have a “chilling effect” on tourism. They have filed a brief to uphold the ruling that blocks Executive Order 13780 from coming into force. From Meetings & Conventions…
Emirates is to fly less often to the United States because tougher US security measures and President Trump’s travel bans are together lowering demand. The airline’s Dubai hub is both a casualty of the US ban on larger electronic devices in passenger cabins and also a transit stop for many passengers affected by Executive Orders 13769 & 13780. From Meetings & Conventions…
Visit Florida’s fortunes could be on rise. After its very future was left in doubt, then a House of Representatives bill passed to cut its budget by two thirds to $25m, then Governor Rick Scott called for $76m… now he has proposed raising funding to $100m. Visit Florida CEO Ken Lawson calls the possibility a “game changer”. From Meetings & Conventions…
Australia has announced that two new temporary visas will make it harder to enter the country’s labour market. The current four-year 457 visa is being scrapped. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said jobs and Australians had to come first, amid concerns that key workers from abroad are crucial to the hospitality sector and wider tourism industry. From CIM News Magazine…
With key landmarks of New York’s iconic skyline again lit up blue in celebration, the second annual Global Meetings Industry Day is dawning across the face-to-face world. Spearheaded by campaign coalition Meetings Mean Business, the event is designed to raise awareness of the sector and to highlight its business and societal impacts. Happy GMID! From Successful Meetings…
As 13 US states line up to back President Trump’s Travel Ban II – calling for the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the second suspension of it granted to Maryland – the federal judge who first blocked it in Hawaii has extended his order. Once again the ban’s damage to tourism and academic research is cited. From Meetings & Conventions…
With the ban on bringing larger electronic devices into passenger cabins coming into force on flights to the US from ten airports – the UK has similar restrictions on routes inbound from six countries – how have Middle East carriers mitigated the inconvenience to their customers? Details on the Emirates, Etihad and Turkish Airlines approaches. From Meetings & Conventions…
Shortly after the Florida House of Representatives passed a bill cutting Visit Florida’s budget by two thirds to $25m – also capping salaries and increasingly accountability – now a Senate subcommittee has proposed backing Governor Rick Scott’s request for a $76m budget. Visit Florida says the state attracted 112.8m visitors in 2016, after just 87.3m in 2011. From Meetings & Conventions…
Showing Featured Opinions
View all Opinions
With the UK Prime Minister Theresa May just having called an early general election, a viral BBC interview highlights the electoral fatigue Britain is now feeling after the outcome of its Brexit ballot. But perhaps Brits – including the UK meetings industry – should consider the June poll a second referendum on EU membership… and vote accordingly. From the editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
Another view on the United Airlines Flight 3411 debacle tackles the story from a US passenger rights – rather than reputation management – perspective. The Business Travel Coalition’s Kevin Mitchell argues that the legal protections available to passengers need strengthening. He advocates supporting the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights sponsored by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal. From Meetings & Conventions…
As lawyers now tuck into the meal United Airlines just made of what should have been an instant and profuse apology, the sorry story of Flight 3411 already merits its own chapter in textbooks of bad brand management. But the carrier has history here: a musical tragedy that became a hit YouTube video. From Martin Lewis at Meetpie.com…
Here are some controversial thoughts about that alluring and elusive butterfly… return on investment. No sooner do we get really near to it than it flutters away out of reach. So is it time for to rethink calculating the ROI of meetings and events… or would that indeed give much of the industry butterflies? From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
To celebrate Global Meetings Industry Day 2017, INCON has collected five views from its partners around the world on why organising face-to-face meetings is as popular and successful as clearly it is. ORTRA’s Galit Shimshoni, DEKON Group’s Michael Kern, MCI’s Robin Lokerman, Arinex’s Roslyn McLeod and AIM Group International’s Patrizia Semprebene Buongiorno all contribute. An INCON Expert Guide…
Death to death by PowerPoint! These days learning needs to become engaging and experiential. So absolutely critical to knowledge transfer moving forward are… making content available online, using technology to encourage interaction, establishing networks, adjusting venue configurations and making it emotional. Some further thoughts on future trends from German Convention Bureau Managing Director Matthias Schultze…
Here are four emerging industry trends seriously worth bearing in mind for future meetings and events… and how to address them. Contending for your consideration: understanding the changing needs of so-called millenials, also of so-called silverpreneurs, customising for the individual… and making use of the sharing economy. From German Convention Bureau Managing Director Matthias Schultze…
With the German Convention Bureau now a partner of The Iceberg, here is the first of several opinions from Managing Director Matthias Schultze. He argues it is time to move beyond the term “face-to-face” and to describe next level business and professional events – and their impacts and outcomes – more accurately as “mind-to-mind” meetings. From the German Convention Bureau…
Showing Featured Education
View all Education
No other event offers the same opportunity for client and supplier to meet face-to-face and discuss future co-operation in a tailor-made Workshop environment. Participating bureaux can promote their company and services to senior decision-makers who are actively looking for destinations. Clients are also given some private time to network during the Client’s Forum.
Meeting planners are invited to join our Educational Trips to experience German hospitality and learn more about the services of the meetings and conventions sector. Participants get an insight into the MICE offer and explore leading local key industries first hand. A few days packed with networking, site inspections, education, and… of course lots of…
The 5-Day Certificate Training in Meeting Architecture is an intense and hands-on training program on all the Meeting Architecture core elements. It brings fundamental classics like formats and techniques, creative group work, Interaction, Hybrid meetings, and more. In all these topics the latest innovations and technology are shown, demonstrated and used by the participants.
This global programme has been custom-designed for international association executives and for ICCA members who interact directly with associations and their meetings, to learn from and about each other, to explore how to design, organise, negotiate and host more effective and successful meetings, and to build lasting business relationships and friendships.
The World Education Congress is designed to teach meeting and event professionals to think outside the ballroom. More than 2,000 global meeting and event professionals join us every year to learn how to stop planning meetings and start designing transformative experiences that deliver return on investment dividends to all stakeholders and participants.
Meeting planners are invited to join our Educational Trips to experience German hospitality and learn more about the services of the meetings and conventions sector. Participants get an insight into the MICE offer and explore leading local key industries first hand. A few days packed with networking, site inspections, education, and… of course lots of…
We carefully select 10 different technologies that will open up the entire scope of technology available today for meeting planners. Each technology gets a whole two hour session to install, set up, execute a mini project, experiment and discuss, and will be presented by an expert in that technology. This training is very much hands on; you experience the technology personally.
The ICCA Africa Client/Supplier Business Workshop 2017 will be held in the CSIR International Convention Centre, Tshwane, South Africa from 19 – 21 July 2017.
In this free webcast moderated by Incentive’s Leo Jakobson, attendees will learn everything they need to know to run an effective employee loyalty recognition program. The session will offer a step-by-step guide on how to create the rules structure, promote the program, track participant performance, deliver the awards, and measure the results.
Excellent business opportunities, outstanding networking activities, and great academic program. More than 25 hosted buyers, top leaders of Latin American, Panamerican and Iberoamerican Associations will be present; clients and members will be able to share from the beginning a full social program based in a team-building experience provided by the Local Host Committee. Our academic program…
Summer School is an unmissable learning opportunity for all professionals working in Convention Bureaux, Tourist Offices, Congress Centres, Airlines, Hotels, DMCs, PCOs & Meeting Planners! The aim is to equip professionals with the latest marketing tools and to help them to develop the knowledge and skills required for a successful career in conference, meetings and event…
M&IT offer a number of training webinars which are tailored to the conference, meetings and events industry, for both suppliers and buyers to better understand the market, including Social Media for Events; The Venue Contracts Minefield; Health, Safety & Risk Assessments; The Bribery Act; Data Protection in Events.
Showing Featured Events
View all Events
Discover 3,500 worldwide exhibitors, the latest trends and hundreds of meeting professionals under one roof. With the largest global array of exhibitors from every sector in the meetings industry, come to IMEX prepared to do a year’s worth of business in just three days. Choose from 150 seminars, including seminars, workshops, campfires and bite-sized show-floor education. Over 200…
Events are fleeting. But experiences create emotional connections that last long after the event is over. Experiences leave your guests feeling inspired and mobilized to create real change. The truth is, you don’t just plan events. You design experiences. XDP is a two-day, business-focused experience for association professionals and industry partners.
The 30th ECM Annual Meeting & General Assembly will be held in Dubrovnik May 31 – June 3, 2017. European Cities Marketing is a non-profit organisation improving the competitiveness and performance of the leading cities of Europe. ECM provides a platform for convention, leisure and city marketing professionals to exchange knowledge, best practice and widen their network…
Activities include conversations with thought leaders who bring fresh outside perspectives. In a city rich with design, art, architecture, fashion and more, New York City provides the perfect backdrop for us to think outside the traditional meeting paradigm. We will use these attributes to drive our conversation and innovate our thinking. Together we will celebrate dialogue…
City Fair is a one day event of pre-scheduled appointments dedicated to the lucrative and growing sector of city tourism organised by ETOA and ECM. This is a unique opportunity for European city tourist boards and their suppliers to meet, network and conduct business with tour operators and city product developers from all over the world.
Our event unites meetings, events & incentives industry decision makers with leading suppliers for global business adventures. The fresh new format offers one-to-one meetings between top suppliers and pre-qualified meeting and event planners with proven business to place in the US and globally. Appointments are mutually matched to ensure that you only have relevant meetings….
The AIPC Annual Conference offers global insights on emerging issues and conditions with the specific experiences and insights of industry experts and member centres to create comprehensive, practical outcomes with both immediate and long term applications.
EPEX is tmf India’s industry-defining expo in collaboration with India’s largest MICE, Destination Events and Weddings platform: The WOW Awards and Convention Asia! 2016 saw close to 90 hosted buyers, an additional 60 walk-in buyers, and a networking opportunity with over 1000 industry experts from across MICE, Events, Weddings in India and Asia!
Consult with merchandise and gift card experts in pre-scheduled one-on-one appointments and insightful educational sessions, while enjoying a fully hosted, three-night stay at the Sonesta Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, FL, from July 10-12, 2017.
In 2017, we continue our promise to educate, inspire and inform as we travel to Montreal, Canada, who will be hosting our conference during the 375th anniversary of this historic city. DMAI’s Annual Convention provides a unique opportunity to connect with and learn from your peers and thought leaders from inside and outside the industry.
Experience the modern way to engage with customers through creative and interactive learning and teamwork. The M&IT Agency Challenge brings together suppliers and senior personnel from leading agencies in M&IT’s interactive mix of work and fun, education and competition, creativity and inspiration.
Connect with the top hotels, CVBs, DMCs, and venues from across Colorado in pre-scheduled one-on-one appointments and unique experiential networking events, while enjoying a fully hosted, two-night stay at The Sheraton Denver Downtown from July 23-25, 2017.
