Dr Emma Delaney from the University of Surrey explains how the “psychic income paradigm”, a concept well established in sports events, offers a credible way to capture the overlooked social and emotional value that is delivered by business events. From Centre for Events & Festivals…
In this episode of The Meeting Room podcast, James Lancaster, Editorial Director at Northstar Meetings Group, and Iceberg Ambassador, discusses the latest implications of Trump travel policies suggesting a silent revolution on the part of event organisers and international visitors is well underway…
Iceberg Ambassadors Melissa Riley and Kai Hattendorf, along with Rodney Cox argue the case for business events as a strategy for accelerated destination development, place leadership, capacity building, and the realisation of broader policy agendas. “Where’s the message,” asks Cox, “to government that if you want to fast-track your city to [becoming] a hub of…
VisitScotland’s Rory Archibald outlines the ambitious thinking behind Scotland’s new business events strategy: deep conversations with association clients to understand what knowledge is being generated and exchanged, long-term data-gathering plan, fast and flexible integration of past mistakes, strong alignment with policy goals for Scotland and its aspirations for citizens’ wellbeing.
Industry leaders gathered in Barcelona during 2025 IBTM World to address key advocacy issues facing the industry, and to identify what collective actions could be taken at high-level and what work needs to be done at the local level where business event impacts are most visible and relevant to policymakers and other place leaders.
Where some destinations see only a glamorous sporting event, Singapore leveraged the most recent edition of its Formula 1 race to host and in some cases to originate and organise 25 strategic international business events. Carrie Kwik, Executive Director, Conventions, Meetings & Incentive Travel, Singapore Exhibition & Convention BureauTM (SECB), explains how Singapore’s advantages as…
For the fourth year in a row, ESAE (European Society of Association Executives) curated and organised IBTM World’s Association Leadership Forum in Barcelona last November. International and European association leaders explored ways to design their meetings strategy in a less transactional way, and instead to use these events to drive forward the Mission and Vision…
Gathering Point’s David Adler explains how media-hosted events became the most lucrative — and least examined — marketplace for public advocacy. And what is true for the USA will almost certainly be the case in other arenas of policymaking influence, from the EU to Asia-Pacific.
From Meetings & Conventions Asia: Thanks to government policy, investment in an excellent events ecosystem and soaring ambition, Dubai is emerging as a global healthcare superstar. Its desire to provide a bridge for international knowledge-sharing is proving irresistible to some of the world’s most important medical events.
The German Trade Show industry contributes around €30bn annually to Germany’s economic output and safeguards at least 280,000 jobs, according to a recent report from the economic research institute Prognos, commissioned by the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA). The study is based on surveys of over 33,700 visitors and 17,700 exhibiting companies…
A cooling labor market is compounding a long-simmering problem. Event professionals are being asked to do more with fewer resources, less institutional support, and, often, less pay. Simultaneously, seasoned professionals are exiting the industry at an accelerating pace. In many cases, they are replaced by less experienced workers, or not replaced at all.
Destinations International’s Jane Cunningham and MMGY NextFactor’s Managing Director Cassandra Gilbertson discuss the ways in which DI’s latest biennial study will shape the policy priorities and primary challenges facing destination organisations worldwide over the coming years. A huge shift in business models and strategic responsibilities has been taking place over the last decade, moving from…
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From Destinations International: Destination Vancouver is a non-profit, member-based destination marketing and management organization that promotes the spectacular city of Vancouver, British Columbia, as a premier travel destination. We support Vancouver’s tourism industry through marketing initiatives, event support, and partnerships with local businesses and institutions to attract visitors from around the world with a mission…
From PCMA: Neil Brownlee, head of business events at VisitScotland and chair of the 2025 PCMA Board of Directors and Trustees, talks about how he thinks his perspective as the board’s first non-North American chair will help set the association up for future growth. Neil Brownlee attended his first Convening Leaders in 2011 in Las…
From Exhibition News: For the hottest buzzword in the industry, very little is understood about data. At the recent IBTM World show in Barcelona, there was scarcely a session that didn’t mention its importance. Vice-president of European sales at Cvent Jamie Vaughan went so far as to say: “An event planner without data is just…
From Fortune: Stephen Carter, CEO of Informa PLC, says he violated a key tenet of his industry by speaking at a recent conference held in Saudi Arabia. Informa, based in the U.K., produces exhibitions and live events, and it works best when it’s in the background. “Our job, as someone said to me many years…
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