Destinations need “curators, adopters, catalysts, activists and collaborators”.
In this edition of Business Events World, The Iceberg‘s global spotlight falls on a must-read piece of research for anybody in the business of destination marketing and management. Iceberg partner Destinations International has released a 2017 update to its DestinationNEXT Futures Study of 2014.
The report further explores three transformational opportunities identified in the previous study. In sales and marketing, shifting away from broadcast to engagement and from the transactional to the strategic. In destination management, playing a greater role in product development. And in evolving the business model, placing greater emphasis on partnerships and collaboration.
To deal with industry disruption the report cites five critical roles that destination organisations of the future need to play: those of curators, adopters, catalysts, activists and collaborators.
This curator is already hooked.
Also in Research below, an Australian Workplace Skills Survey highlights critical gaps that are seriously impacting the business events industry down under. This story is also in News (click on “View all News”), with more on the 2024 and 2028 Olympics, a great survey about the practicalities of meetings travel, and figures on the sector’s economic impact in Bristol, Perth and Glasgow. Our partners report on the development of Tanzania and regional New South Wales as destinations, contingency planning after terror attacks, a new industry degree course in Perth and a revamped Events Centre in Queensland. Kuala Lumpur now has a Business Events Alliance, Visit Tampa is putting Visit Florida “on hold”, and new research looks at both sector sustainability and what really irritates planners as they select venues.
In Opinions, we have views on ROI, a suspended event that itself got suspended, and also the thoughts of Manchester Central’s Shaun Hinds.
Until the next time…
Robert Coren, Curator of The Iceberg
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As The Iceberg reaches its half birthday – having launched in January 2017 – perhaps it is time to restate the principle behind the unusual metaphor we appropriated. If you prefer, perhaps it is time to gaze again at the blue sky above The Iceberg. This platform is presented by the Joint Meetings Industry Council and emerged not only as a vehicle for industry advocacy in general…
The gleaming new ICC Sydney has just hosted the 2017 Annual Conference of the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC). As well as being a prime example of what a modern centre should itself be, the entire Darling Harbour redevelopment precinct was also the perfect setting for a theme of “Transformation”. From CIM News Magazine…
The Outdoor Retailer trade show is switching to a three event annual format and coming to Denver and the Colorado Convention Center. The story of its move away from Utah is a tale of politics, proposed legacies in conservation and health, and the tireless campaigning of Colorado’s outdoor recreation chief – and Everest mountaineer – Luis Benitez. From Outside…
At Meetings Africa 2017, South Africa announced a bidding fund to target and win international association conferences and meetings. But subvention can be a mistake if not clearly linked to encouraging growth in key knowledge sectors. A special Event video report – produced in partnership with The Iceberg – explores the role the meetings industry will play in African economic development.
Innovative technology start-ups are now increasingly visible alongside the more established energy sector across Calgary’s business landscape. The destination is home to the largest number of fledgling tech businesses per capita in Canada, and the recently refurbished Calgary TELUS Convention Centre likes to see itself as a facilitator of this entrepreneurial trend. From PCMA Convene…
Already with the world’s fastest Internet connection speed, the city-state of Singapore is making a play to become Asia’s leading start-up incubator and the next silicon valley. The Singapore Tourism Board makes the case that coming investment in R & D, the many ICT events already held there, and an easy business environment all help foster tech success. From PCMA Convene…
From its annual home in Berlin, re:publica is a sizeable conference celebrating and debating digital disruption in a face-to-face format. The bohemian approach of the 2016 running cemented a ten year track record of legacy influence on regulation and legislation. There are also now sister events in Dublin and Thessaloniki. Photo: Jan Zappner. From tw tagungswirtschaft…
IMEX 2017 in Frankfurt saw the launch of one initiative rather complementary in its aims to what the Joint Meetings Industry Council and The Iceberg are also trying to achieve. ICCA – the International Congress and Convention Association – and BestCities Global Alliance announced that associations whose meetings have a great legacy story to tell will be able to apply for…
IMEX 2017 – the largest ever running of the show – officially opened on May 16 with a state of the industry address from IMEX Group Chairman Ray Bloom. German Convention Bureau Managing Director Matthias Schultze also spoke – in strong support of unfettered movement across borders – and the opening keynote came in the form of a unique city perspective on the…
Vilnius, capital of the Republic of Lithuania in Northern Europe, was the host for CONVENE earlier this year and has long been a leading events destination in the region. Now the new Go Vilnius agency will link up the city’s marketing with its more strategic economic goals of attracting investment and talent. From tmf dialogue marketing…
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…
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The Caloundra Events Centre in the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia, is to receive a AU$6m redevelopment. The work will include refurbishment of the foyer, box office, bars and function rooms, acoustic treatment for the theatre walls and ceiling, and also dividing walls between the main theatre and the Glasshouse Room. From CIM News Magazine…
A Cvent study of 1,200 event professionals reveals some serious pet hates of planners in the process of selecting venues. Transparency and pricing failings – along with poor response times – are all bones of contention for organisers. The report also suggests that venues could improve their business by providing prompt answers to all requests for proposals. From Meetpie.com…
A white paper from Iceberg partner Positive Impact looks at five sustainable development goals laid out by the United Nations, then applies them to the events industry. The paper – which is calling for industry views ahead of its final release at ibtm world in November – coincides with the UN Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. From Meetpie.com…
Hospitality education institution Le Cordon Bleu is offering a convention and event management degree to students at its new school in Perth, Australia. The Bachelor of Business (Convention and Event Management) will include two six-month industry placements. 90 percent of Le Cordon Bleu graduates in Australia secure employment within six months of finishing their degrees. From CIM New Magazine…
The rebranded Glasgow Convention Bureau won 526 conferences between 2016 and 2017, which will bring in an estimated £142m to the city’s economy. The conferences will take place up to 2022 and attract 140,000 business tourists. The number of international associations choosing Glasgow has also risen, with 2016 / 2017 the most successful year yet. From Meetpie.com…
While the meetings industry usually clusters around big cities, the New South Wales Government in Australia has just announced a new conferencing strategy to drive more business events to rural and regional destinations. The AU$6 million plan was launched in Tamworth, one of the smaller cities to benefit from the shift in thinking. From Association Meetings International…
After the recent fight over Visit Florida’s annual $76 million budget, a number of local destination marketing organisations in the state are rethinking ties with the state’s tourism promotion board. The new settlement imposes restrictions on contracts, staff salaries and travel and entertainment for Visit Florida, as well as for boards working with it. From Meetings & Conventions…
The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) has persuaded several local businesses to form an alliance to promote the city’s meetings and business events sector. KLCC managers have also called again for the city to have its own convention bureau. Enquiries are currently dealt with nationally through the Malaysian Convention and Events Bureau. From Association Meetings International…
With passengers at some European airports facing lengthy security queues, a new study reveals that while enquiries about safety are rising, over a quarter of corporate travel managers do not have emergency planning in place. But the research also shows that the concerns have not yet led to changes in corporate travel policies. From Meetpie.com…
A year ago the Perth Convention Bureau created a strategy to target corporate and incentive groups, and set itself a four-year goal of taking its market from ten percent to 32 percent. PCB CEO Paul Beeson now says this share has been achieved in just a single year, filling the city’s increased accommodation supply. From CIM News Magazine…
Opening the new Lake Nyasa exhibition hall, the tourism minister of Tanzania, Jumanne Abdallah Maghembe, has challenged the Arusha International Conference Centre to fully exploit the potential of conferences which he said generated $670m for the country last year. Tanzania has also announced a $156m World Bank financing plan to boost tourism by upgrading roads. From the Event…
Destination Bristol says the city’s conference and events industry has made its highest economic impact yet, more than £259 million last year. More events have been held in Bristol – with longer stays at higher rates – and more of Bristol’s own businesses are holding events locally. The last record was of £202m in 2015. From Meetpie.com…
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Growing its business events sector is part of Malaysia’s strategy to achieve status as a developed nation by 2020. This case study presents the contribution made by the 55th ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) Congress towards developing the business events sector in the country. ICCA’s event engaged political leaders and the local community to raise awareness of the needs…
The Geneva Convention Bureau has adopted a policy of promoting Geneva not only as a destination but also as a center of economic, knowledge and innovation excellence. It does this by marketing meetings and events in relation to local key clusters of industry. As a result, a dynamic and virtuous feedback loop is established between Geneva’s economic or knowledge…
This research by Business Events Sydney (BESydney) demonstrates that business events offer delegates unrestricted exposure to innovative ideas and opportunities to develop new knowledge and skills. Part of the Beyond Tourism Benefits series, the new study by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) – Conferences: Catalysts for Thriving Economies – provides further evidence showing that…
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The DestinationNEXT Futures Study identifies the trends and opportunities that will shape the future of destination marketing and management. This Futures Study update, conducted in 2017, is intended to build on the learnings from the 2014 Futures Study, and to determine updated trends and strategies that will keep the thousands of destination organizations around the…
A skills survey of the business events sector, coordinated by Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) in partnership with the Australian Association of Convention Bureaux and the Exhibition & Events Association of Australasia (EEAA), has found that critical skills gaps are considerably impacting the business events industry. With a significant survey response rate of 39 per…
This study is based on a global survey concluded in July 2017. It represents up to date information on the development and the outlook of the global exhibition industry as well as on 14 specific countries and zones. Global Exhibition Barometer 19th Edition (July 2017)
The latest UFI / Business Strategies Group report on the trade fair industry in Asia has now been published complete with updated statistical information from 2016. Leaflet here… The Trade Fair Industry in Asia – 13th Edition (July 2017) – Leaflet Order form here… The Trade Fair Industry in Asia – 13th Edition (July 2017) –…
The future belongs to cities. To be specific, the future belongs to cities that can attract the brightest and the best people, and encourage them to thrive. Today cities compete nationally and internationally to attract businesses, skilled migrants, and of course visitors. However, to an increasingly globalised population a city’s postcard views and monuments matter…
The Global Association Hubs Partnership (GAHP) was created by Brussels, Dubai, Singapore, and Washington DC to engage with the international association community as a trusted partner for international growth. A key component of the GAHP strategy is to feed this dialogue with original research-based content and to provide education and networking opportunities for association decision…
The meetings and conventions industry is evolving into a global innovation distribution channel. Over the last decade, convention bureaus have been collaborating more strategically with their local and state governments, economic development agencies, academic and scienti c institutions, and local business improvement districts to better leverage the value of conventions in their cities, especially those aligned…
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Manchester Central is now celebrating ten years since becoming an exhibition and conference centre. The venue’s new CEO Shaun Hinds has clear views on its next decade, in terms of industry disruption, the evolution of meetings and events, extending the conference experience beyond the event itself, and in the use of technology. From the editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
According to the Incentive Research Foundation’s 2016 Event Disruption study, 59% of planners in 2015 and 2016 and had to deal with outside disturbances to their meeting itineraries. One brave Iceberg partner journalist signed up to sample a unique dinner-in-the-sky experience in London. Sadly sometimes even a suspended event has to be… erm… suspended. From the editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
Whilst direct spend on business and professional events – the tip of the iceberg – is relatively easy to quantify, their legacy return on investment has always been harder to assess. ROI specialist Michael Piddock of Glisser links its measurement to the goals an event is seeking to achieve, be these in revenue, reputation, relationships or recall. From Meetings & Conventions…
Small may be beautiful… but it does make economies of scale harder to achieve and is a niche that businesses either overlook or manage on an ad hoc basis. Two corporate meetings chiefs offer their thoughts on how best to think big about small, particularly in regards to the use of technology. From Business Travel News…
With campaigners against Texas’s proposed “bathroom bill” claiming the state has already suffered $66 million of convention business cancellations because of the proposed legislation – the exact figure is the subject of some dispute – US Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow says boycotts are the wrong way to campaign however well-intentioned their aim. From Meetings & Conventions…
“Uneasy lies the head of the PCO” to adapt Shakespeare. But what should a PCO’s guiding principles be in designing a conference or exhibition? What works really well and what really does not? Principles 1 – 5 are listed on the article page. Click through issue 7 of the full magazine at the bottom for 6 – 10. From the Event…
Whether it’s all about the cost of the airfare itself or of the transportation from the airport, whether it’s about the pricing of the meeting’s accommodation, food and beverages, Wi-Fi access or off-site venues, views on what constitutes affordability in the meetings industry are as many and varied as are the events themselves. From Successful Meetings…
AI or artificial intelligence is widely perceived as a paradigm shift in computing that will supplant human labour rather than assisting or complementing it. But far from driverless vehicles or robots replacing human workers, it may be in less obvious areas like attendee profile matchmaking that the invisible technology truly comes into its own. From Meetings & Conventions…
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Meeting Professionals are invited to join us for a unique learning experience that is focused on a well-rounded look at conference management and the changing landscape of our industry. In order to maximize learning outcomes and networking opportunities, this seminar is strictly limited in size and allows for maximum interaction with faculty and industry experts.
In this free webcast moderated by Incentive’s Leo Jakobson, attendees will learn everything they need to know to run an effective dealer network incentive 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.
Interested in supporting the creation of a sustainable event industry? Passionate about events and/or sustainability? Register now to join our associate training and become part of a global team of people who believe events should have a positive impact.
Associations @ Work is ASAE’s premier business conference that addresses the interrelated business functions – executive management, finance, development, operations, human resources, and fundraising – in associations. Associations @ Work is designed for association professionals to heighten collaboration and learning exchanges with colleagues by identifying and applying solutions to optimize efficiencies, solve cross functional operational…
In this free webcast moderated by Incentive’s Leo Jakobson, attendees will learn everything they need to know to run an effective internal sales incentive 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.
“Addressing hot topics with top notch speakers…” Conclave is the industry’s only exclusive meeting of CMPs. The Conclave is a unique event for CMPs who wish to contribute to their profession, while advancing their own knowledge and skills, and expanding their professional network.
The AIPC Facility Operations Summit is an opportunity for centre staff responsible for key operations functions to share issues and solutions on a global basis while also looking at how essential interactions amongst centre managers can be enhanced in ways that will increase overall centre efficiency and competitiveness.
The FYP brings together 35 young industry professionals from a diverse array of backgrounds. Over 3 days, the selected applicants are given networking opportunities, educational sessions, social activities and guidance worth their weights in gold from some of the most influential meetings industry figures. Participants will complete the FYP with a wealth of knowledge, a…
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A must-attend event for visitor services professionals, this is the foremost opportunity to connect with colleagues to discuss the issues and trends that impact you and the visitors you serve. Explore diverse industry practices and case studies to exemplify what is working, what opportunities to explore, and what management practices to hone.
Invaluable business connections, targeted education, and unforgettable experiences—all while experiencing the magic of the Hawaiian Islands. This unique event is hosted by Northstar Meetings Group’s leading brands—Successful Meetings, Meetings & Conventions, and Incentive Magazine—in partnership with Meet Hawaii, Maui Visitors Bureau, and The Wailea Beach Marriott.
Established in 1993, IT&CMA is at the forefront of fostering MICE growth opportunities for the Asia-Pacific and beyond. Its multi-faceted programme engages regional and international industry suppliers and buyers in the realms of business, education and networking. IT&CMA also features dedicated platforms designed around the interests of valuable MICE niche segments, enabling the event to consistently…
One of the most popular events held during IMEX America week, this SITE Foundation event annually attracts over 1200 SITE members, IMEX hosted buyers and suppliers to an exciting Las Vegas venue for an evening of networking and relationship building.
If you influence or manage international or domestic meetings and events, then IMEX America is where you belong. Whether you’re a corporate, association or agency planner you’ll discover fabulous business, education and networking opportunities. This truly is the power source for the meetings industry. Productive appointments. Face time with key players. The knowledge to boost your…
For more than 30 years, DMAI’s Membership Summit has supported the evolving role and the impact of the membership professional. This community of partners, inclusive of both membership and partnership roles, targets discussions about changing trends in the destination marketplace, redefining membership and partnership responsibilities to maximize impact, and recalibrating the sponsorship value proposition, to…
Connect with the top hotels, CVBs, DMCs, and venues from across Arizona in pre-scheduled one-on-one appointments and unique experiential networking events, while enjoying a fully hosted, two-night stay at The Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix, AZ, from October 29-31, 2017.
(UFI Members Only.) UFI is the leading global association of the world’s tradeshow organisers and exhibition centre operators, as well as the major national and international exhibition associations, and selected partners of the exhibition industry. UFI’s main goal is to represent, promote and support the business interests of its members and the exhibition industry.
Experience the beauty of Iceland at the 2nd annual event for incentive buyers in the U.S. and across the EMEA Region, featuring pre-scheduled one-on-one appointments, unique experiential networking events, and a fully hosted, three-night stay in Reykjavik, November 1-3, 2017.
THE ICCA CONGRESS: A MUST FOR MEETING INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS! We’re committed to line up the largest and strongest ever group of expert speakers from outside the meetings industry, who will be drawn from all regions of the world. There will be a range of new networking experiments introduced to enable delegates to do better business with…
Connect with the top hotels, CVBs, DMCs, and venues from across the Lone Star state in pre-scheduled one-on-one appointments and unique experiential networking events, while enjoying a fully hosted, three-night stay at Horseshoe Bay Resort in Horseshoe Bay, TX, from November 27-29, 2017.
