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Mobile World Congress, the huge smartphone conference, has been cancelled after significant exhibitors pulled out citing the coronavirus crisis. The association behind the event, GSMA, could have to foot the bill for the entire cost of cancellation unless Spain’s government declares the outbreak a health emergency. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
As a founding member of twenty years’ standing, the departure of Edinburgh from Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance came as quite a shock. BestCities’ new MD Lesley Williams felt the loss very keenly, having in the past spent seven years as Head of Business Tourism at Marketing Edinburgh’s Convention Bureau. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
With the WHO declaring coronavirus a public health emergency, and with airlines suspending their flights to China, conference managers are having to cancel, delay or relocate their meetings in the country. One professional congress organiser said his clients were exercising “extreme caution” because of the crisis. From Association Meetings International…
Leaders of Australia’s convention bureaux have sought to dampen fears about the recent bushfires and quash what they call the spread of “misinformation”. The Association of Australian Convention Bureaux says organisers and managers of events should be contacting its members for destination-specific information and advice. Photo: Rob Russell. From Association Meetings International…
The number of corporate travel buyers forecasting bigger budgets for 2020 is now at a five-year high, according to annual research from the Business Travel Show. 41 percent of buyers said they would have more money to spend on travel in 2020, a rise from 33 percent last year. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Meeting professionals are feeling less optimistic about the future. So says MPI’s quarterly Outlook Survey for November 2019, which shows positive sentiment at lowest levels since before the 2008 financial crisis. Other responses note that meetings are getting shorter, more frequent and more niche, but that audiences are getting bigger. From Association Meetings International…
Marketing Edinburgh has moved closer to collapse with the entire board of the organisation resigning “with immediate effect” after city councillors rejected a funding plea to implement new strategy. The publicly-owned organisation is set to lose all funding as the authority tries to cut up to £40 million from next year’s budget. From Eventsbase…
On the very day Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised the UK would be leaving the European Union “do or die” (October 31st, and spoiler alert, it did not), the European Tourism Association gathered over 100 delegates from across leisure and business tourism to discuss Brexit’s impact on the sector. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
A major fire at the New Zealand International Convention Centre construction site in Auckland’s central business district will not prevent the city hosting the APEC Leaders Week event in 2021, says the country’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. But NZICC’s opening, set for 2020, will be significantly delayed by the blaze. From Association Meetings International…
Weeks of anti-government protests in Chile have forced the embattled President Piñera to cancel both this month’s APEC trade summit and COP25 UN climate conference in December. The 2019 Cochrane Colloquium,a major healthcare meeting, was also due to be held in Santiago, but the growing death toll has forced its cancellation. From Association Meetings International…
CWT Meetings & Events says that sustainability is rising in importance for the industry. The claim comes in its new 2020 Future Trends Report bonus supplement “The Future of Sustainable Events”. As activists are protesting around the world, like Extinction Rebellion in London, companies are taking increasing notice. Photo: Jwslubbock. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
A survey has found that almost a third of planners throw away fifteen percent of food they commission for events. New research from Lime Venue Portfolio, in partnership with BCD Meetings and Events, makes clear the need for the meetings industry to take a lead in tackling food waste. From Association Meetings International…
Edinburgh will leave Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance at the end of the year after major public sector funding cuts that have devastated Marketing Edinburgh. The body is the destination’s convention and visitors bureau, and is responsible for promoting the city to the world. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
For the first time ever the UN has received commitments from the event industry at the Sustainable Development Goal Summit in New York. 7,000 pledges were collected from 58 countries, and the resultant “acceleration action” from Iceberg partner Positive Impact is promoting events as a form of lifelong learning (SDG 4). From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Glasgow will welcome 30,000 delegates, including 200 world leaders, to discuss the climate change emergency when it hosts the 26th Conference of the Parties, or COP26, in November 2020 at the Scottish Event Campus. This year’s event will be held in Santiago, Chile, where the UK bid will be formally accepted. From Association Meetings International…
CWT M&E says the buoyant global meetings industry is poised for eight percent growth next year, despite looming geopolitical and economic headwinds. The 2020 Future Trends report notes these as the trade war between the US and China, Brexit and its wider impact, the protests in Hong Kong and climate change. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Despite the Hong Kong government giving in to protestors’ demands to withdraw its extradition bill, political disruption has continued across the territory. Organisers are nervous of holding events there, but the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and other local players have been keen to allay all fears. Photo: Studio Incendo. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
CWT M&E has unveiled its ranking of the top ten cities for meetings and events in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2020, with London holding onto the coveted number one spot. The ranking is based on data in the CWT 2020 Future Trends in Meetings & Events report just out. From Meetings International…
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