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JMIC Launches Net Zero Carbon Pledge

The global meetings industry is being urged to join together in an historic pledge to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. JMIC (Joint Meetings Industry Council), which presents The Iceberg, has launched an initiative called Net Zero Carbon Events to connect the industry to the growing movement to radically reduce emissions. From Association Meetings International…

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Italy Launches €520m Sector Compensation

Business events companies in Italy could have some of their COVID-19 losses returned under a €520 million compensation scheme to which EU competition watchdogs have given the nod. The European Commission has approved the funding package, intended to compensate companies in the trade fair and congress sector. From Association Meetings International…

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Overseas to Return in 2022-23, Says Study

Association meeting planners are eager to return to in person events according to a recent report. The Business Events Consumer Demand Project from Tourism Australia found that nearly half of their association respondents, or 45 percent, had held meetings over the past ten months, including those with delegates attending on site. From Association Meetings International…

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Liverpool in England Signs up to GDS-Index

Liverpool has now become the first English city to join Iceberg partner the Global Destination Sustainability Index. The announcement comes after Liverpool declared a climate emergency in 2019. The imminent opening of the city’s new carbon conscious venue the Spine will also add to the city’s sustainable efforts. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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Sarawak in Malaysia Signs up to GDS-Index

In a first for Malaysia, Sarawak has now joined the Global Destination Sustainability Index for Business Events and Tourism, by launching the GDSI Partnership Programme Sarawak Region. Kuching city has been selected as the pilot project, putting it among 75 destinations signed up to the Iceberg partner. From Conference & Meetings World…

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Hopin Raises a Further $450m of Investment

Hopin has raised $450 million in Series D investment. Since February 2020, the virtual meetings platform has raised over $1 billion in all. The new round values Hopin, formed in 2019, at $7.75 billion. It has scaled from six to over 800 employees in over 47 countries since the start of 2020. From Conference News…

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Associations Uncertain About Hybrid Events

Many association event workers accept the benefits of holding hybrid meetings but believe barriers are too high to run them well. A report from Eventsforce, which looks at hybrid association events plus challenges and opportunities they bring, reveals that 49 percent are unsure if hybrid has much of a future for them. From Association Meetings International…

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European Conferences May Need COVID Pass

Delegates hoping to attend an association conference in Europe may be asked to produce a “COVID pass” as more governments impose restrictions on unvaccinated people meeting indoors. The rapid spread of the Delta variant has spooked leaders kickstarting their battered economies while protecting the gains made by the vaccines. From Association Meetings International…

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White Paper Recovery Roadmap Released

The pandemic offers a chance for the global business events sector to reinvent itself. So says a white paper and recovery roadmap just jointly released by PCMA, the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau, Singapore Tourism Board, as well as Iceberg partner UFI. But the paper also details havoc already wreaked upon the industry. From PCMA…

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Isla Sustainable Events Framework Launched

Event sustainability group isla has launched proseed, billed as the first universal framework for delivering sustainable meetings. Launched in September 2020 in response to the climate crisis, isla’s twelve founding members have since grown to over 75, with a mix of brands, agencies, venues and event suppliers. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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UK’s ERP Phase I Report Finally Published

The UK government’s full Events Research Programme report was finally published following mounting pressure from the industry and MPs. Phase I recorded only 28 COVID-19 cases across nine pilot events with 58,000 participants. The Liverpool business event pilot chosen, Change Business for Good (pictured), saw no transmission cases. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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Australian MI Agrees AU$50bn 2030 Plan

Meetings industry leaders have just convened at a roundtable to thrash out their strategy for the future of business events in Australia. The event was hosted by both Tourism Australia and the Business Events Council of Australia, whose Deputy Chair Geoff Donaghy (pictured) is also CEO of meeting venue ICC Sydney. From Conference & Meetings World…

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AIDS 2022 Helps Bridge Delegate Digital Divide

Organisers of the 24th International AIDS Conference will create lasting legacies by helping on site and virtual delegates from poorer countries to attend the 2022 event. An “ambitious” scholarship programme will let more attendees take part either in Montreal or else online. The society will also provide internet data and hardware devices. Association Meetings International…

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UK Pilot Events See No Rise in COVID-19

Just fifteen people in 60,000, in line with the broader population, tested positive for COVID-19 after they had attended one of nine pilot events in the UK Events Research Programme. Delegates at the events were not required to socially distance nor wear masks, but took PCR tests at home. From Association Meetings International…

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HK Unveils Conference Ambassador Century

Business leaders in Hong Kong are joining to promote “the vertical city” as a top meetings and conventions destination. One hundred inaugural ambassadors are being led by the Hong Kong Tourism Board with the aim of revitalising business events and strengthening Hong Kong’s reputation as a destination. From Association Meetings International…

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WEF Cancellation Hits Sector and Singapore

The scale of the challenges facing event planners were again laid bare with the World Economic Forum announcing the cancelling of the Special Annual Meeting that was set for Singapore. Amid a spike in local cases of COVID-19, WEF cited the uncertain travel outlook and also variations in vaccination rollout. From Association Meetings International…

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Sixth GMID Unites the Sector to “Meet Safe”

One year into the pandemic, meetings industry professionals gathered with leaders in business, government and the media to mark Global Meetings Industry Day 2021. This year the GMID theme is “Meet Safe”, recognising the industry’s top priority of operating meetings and events with health and safety at the forefront. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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ExCeL London Secures ESC Congress 2024

The European Society of Cardiology has said that its ESC Congress, the world’s largest gathering of heart specialists, will be back at ExCeL London in 2024. The society ran its 2015 event at the venue, bringing in more than 32,700 participants from 140 countries, and leaving a legacy of public involvement. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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