Shining a Global Spotlight on Business & Professional Events as Drivers of Societal, Economic, and Intellectual Change. Business and professional events are no longer measured solely by the transactional data associated with hotel occupancy or delegate spend. Amen to that. Today’s premier destinations understand that meetings, medical congresses, and corporate summits are powerful engines of…
With the launch of the Africa Exhibition Forum this December, co-organisers jwc founder Jochen Witt and Exhibit Africa MD Daniel Mesfin are interviewed by Exhibition News about the potential of Africa’s exhibition market to drive economic development across the continent, and how to overcome bottlenecks in available venue capacity.
Association leaders and meetings industry professionals gathered in Athens for the latest edition of ICCA’s Future of Healthcare Meetings, held 20-22 September at the Megaron Athens International Conference Centre, with a clear message: stop calling it sponsorship, use AI strategically and rethink supplier-buyer relationships. From Boardroom…
At RAI Amsterdam square meters are only the starting point. This trade show and convention powerhouse is tapping into what matters to the city, the economic and scientific sectors it serves, and particularly the people of Amsterdam and The Netherlands. CEO Maurits van der Sluis explains his venue’s integrated approach. From Headquarters Magazine…
Senior executives from the global convention centre-community recently gathered in Bilbao for the AIPC Annual Conference, under the theme “Bridging the Gap: Venues Connecting Human Experience and Innovation.” But beyond the technology on display and the venues discussed, one question dominated: what is a congress now expected to achieve, and for whom? From Boardroom…
This year’s GDS-Forum and Impact Day held in Szezecin, Poland, aimed to build the capacity of every delegate to improve the sustainability and event impact strategies in their destinations by tapping into the expertise, experiences and tacit knowledge of their peers. The informal but innovative meeting design elements created new connections, unlocked new insights, and…
In this interview at the 2025 IMEX Place Leaders Forum, US Travel Association MD Group Travel Kevin Hinton explains the two critical sides of his job, and how USTA’s efforts in these dimensions interact to support the success of the US business events sector. Before they travel, overseas visitors to the US frequently receive inaccurate…
COO of Business Events Adelaide Tony Saulters explains how his bureau focuses on the world-class specialisations in his destination when determining which events to target, assessing their potential importance not just on delegate numbers and expenditure, but on their capacity to drive inward investment and talent acquisition, and the extent to which they can facilitate…
Dubai is taking a strategic approach to maintaining its position as a leading business events destination amid regional uncertainty and risk. Flexibility, long-term relationships and trust are central to the strategy, with two venues, adaptable planning and unlimited date changes offering organisers greater reassurance and the ability to respond as circumstances evolve. From CMW…
Companies are placing conference attendance under a microscope, sending fewer employees than in previous years — or choosing not to send anyone at all. 56% of respondents to GBTA’s recent survey said their organisation has changed its meetings or events strategy in the past three months, with 24% saying they are reducing employee event attendance.
Across Europe, conferences and exhibitions help to shape cities, through visitor spend and supporting industrial strategies and economic development. Europe is experiencing a summer of ferocious heat, which scientists predict will become the ‘new normal’. AMI’s writers explore how the events industry is coping, responding, and thinking about the future.
The process of designing and executing a seamless event is an art, but tracking and analysing all the metrics is definitely a science. The formula for success can vary from group to group, but there are some universal metrics that most planners should focus on — ones that go beyond total attendance and satisfaction scores.
Speaking at this year’s Place Leaders Forum at IMEX Frankfurt, future of cities expert Prof. Greg Clark articulates the potential for business events to fulfil a pivotal role within destinations’ strategic thinking, thanks to the emergence of new competitive realities as we enter an era where the Innovation Economy interacts with the Experience Economy. Our…
For years, the UK’s BE sector has been making the same case to government: we are more than tourism. Now, Parliament has said it too. The Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s new report is arguably the strongest political endorsement the sector has received, warning it risks falling behind without Government commitment to funding. From M&IT…
In August, the Louder Together “congrestival” will take place in Antwerp, combining a conference and festival where children, young people and teaching artists from around the world convene in a lively mix of theatre festival and scientific conference, with a clear ambition to create societal impact. From Flanders Convention Bureau…
Copenhagen’s life science congresses are being asked to do more than convene international specialists. Through Valuable Meetings, a MeetDenmark project supported by the Danish Board of Business Development, the city is exploring how congresses can become active platforms for sector development, connecting global associations with Danish research, healthcare, companies and innovation networks. From Boardroom…
Organised by the Association of Association Executives, the Associations World Congress took place in Portugal this year, setting up camp at the Lagoa Congress Centre and the Tivoli Carvoeiro Algarve Resort for three days of debate, collaboration, and an industry doing some serious reckoning with its own future. From Boardroom…
Copenhagen Convention Bureau launched the Copenhagen Risk Navigator at this year’s IMEX, and explained that this comprehensive, practical collection of 14 different risk management tools has been custom-developed and made available freely to the entire business events community: destinations and organisers / owners, as well as industry suppliers. Developed by CCB in partnership with GainingEdge…
David Adler, GatheringPoint.News, explains why big investors have decided the most valuable asset in an artificial age is a room of people who showed up, and have spent US$5 billion in five weeks to prove it. The events business has become a veracity business, and veracity is in short supply in the age of AI.
As the events industry pushes for greater inclusivity, new parents, especially mothers, are asking why so many events still turn them away at the door. For many parents, particularly those with infants who are breastfeeding or not yet in childcare, the inability to bring a child means skipping the events entirely. From Skift…
The latest edition of IMEX’s European show offered participants a glimpse of the state of the global events industry. Compared to last year, the geopolitical uncertainty was more obvious and no more resolved, but somehow the events world appears to have become used to this level of stress, on both buyer and supplier sides.
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