Tommy Goodwin from Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance, fresh from helping secure $10 billion towards industry training and education in the USA, argues that advocacy needs to be a 24/7/365 activity in all parts of the world, and at all levels from the UN and EU to local city halls, recruiting policymakers to become advocates for…
IAPCO President Sissi Lignou calls for International healthcare conferences to be designed with the experiences of the end-beneficiaries of the conference theme as the central messaging. The PCO plays a critical role in bringing together all voices – destination representatives, event owners, delegates, speakers – to promote these key messages about impact and value created.
Prof Greg Clark summarises the key points from his keynote presentation to the 2025 ICCA Congress. We are living through a “century of cities”, as we head towards peak projected global population in the year 2080, with over 1600 cities currently having a population of over 1 million, a six-fold increase in 50 years. In…
Anna Abdelnoor, CEO and Founder of isla, observes that too many travel and event sector association leaders are underplaying the turmoil in geopolitics and international business systems that we are currently experiencing and don’t understand that their members would welcome clear-eyed leadership statements on the changed reality of the environment they’re operating in. From AMI…
Meeting design guru Mike van der Vijver calls for the adoption of organisational and evaluation frameworks that highlight the good that meetings deliver (for delegates, event owners, host destinations and society at large), rather than those designed to simply minimise the negative carbon impact of holding the event. From AMI…
From AMI, by James Lancaster: The US military’s blitzkrieg against the Venezuelan government and the arrest of its leader, the dictator Nicolás Maduro, was the most dramatic moment so far in Trump the Sequel – but, despite the action likely contravening international law, it is unlikely to have much effect on whether or not international…
The events industry rarely lacks opinions. There are countless conversations, articles, and posts, about the purpose, priorities, and mechanics of successful business events. There are prophets and preachers, pundits and partners – all promoting what they claim (or seek to sell) as the truth or the best way forward. Yet there are just as many…
Dr Ahmed El Shan, Chairman and founder of ICOM, argues that the choice is stark for association leaders: become architects of the future or be rendered obsolete by it. The challenge is no longer to adapt, but to lead with purpose, harnessing innovation not just for survival, but to build resilient, relevant, and impactful communities.
Kai Hattendorf observes that much has been written and discussed in trends, outlooks, and on stages around the breakdown of the traditional business flow: For decades, the rhythm of the exhibition industry was rigid: Venues booked five years out, marketing campaigns launched twelve months out. That era is over, so how do we adapt?
Gathering Point’s David Adler argues that the more artificial the world becomes, the more essential real gatherings are to our collective survival. What we once called “events” has grown into something much bigger: the Gathering Economy: You can sense this maturity most clearly in the way audiences behave. The dependable six-month registration curve is gone…
Rotterdam & Partners’ Business Development Manager Catherine Kalamidas argues for the unique role only DMOs can play in bringing together business, academia, government, civil society and environmental interests using business events as a focal point for collaboration and intelligent, coordinated development that serves all interests. She argues that if a DMO is defunded, its role…
Destination DC’s Melissa Riley argues for the continued positive interrelationship between leisure tourism and business events, and that bed-nights will continue to be the dominant KPI for destination organisations in the US, funded as they are primarily by bed tax. However, her organisation is increasingly targeting events based on policy priorities of the DC district…
Gary Grimmer argues that developing a value proposition around event impacts is the most strategic issue facing both destination promoters and events organisers. If we measure and report impacts effectively using multi-dimensional KPIs that communicate the industry’s full economic, social and environmental value, we’re going to be part of a more successful and sustainable industry.
AMI Editor James Lancaster re-ignites the ever-contentious debate about whether there are too many business events industry associations, which he argues has lead to an even greater number of less-than-effective partnerships and joint advocacy initiatives. Are we suffering from too much “talk-the-talk” and not enough “walk-the-walk”!
Atti Soenarso argues that behind every breakthrough in physiology or medicine, chemistry or physics, literature and peace, lies not just genius but conversation, debate and collaboration, often in the corridors of meeting venues: Every December, the Nobel Prize award ceremonies in Stockholm, Sweden, and Oslo, Norway, remind the world that brilliance rarely blooms in solitude…
Soolnua co-founder and events industry commentator Padraic Gilligan sounds a warning note on the optimism pervading many recent industry surveys and reports, especially regarding the underlying health of the US economy: At this stage, most of the usual trend and forecast reports for the business events industry have landed. Reading through them, you can’t help…
Dr Hayley Walker of IÉSEG presents an analytical argument with challenging perspective on the effectiveness of “mega-events”, especially those originally designed as government-to-government negotiation platforms, but which have attracted the involvement of big business and different communities of interest. As an industry, shouldn’t we be advocating more strongly for “impactful & effective meetings” not “bigger…
On this recent Boardroom Association Podcast, Alex Filicevas, Executive Director of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition, and Charley Stoney, CEO of the European Association of Communication Agencies, put forward key steps associations of all sizes can take with relation to both Board best practices and conference diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) implementation.
Thoughts & Observations is a weekly newsletter by Kai Hattendorf. It shares updates, reflections, and analyses on the business events and exhibitions industry, covering topics ranging from market trends to industry practices and emerging developments. Each edition provides a concise summary of recent news, data, and professional insights relevant to event organizers and stakeholders.
David Adler critiques the self-promoting, excessive-growth industry that Business Events industry awards have morphed into, praises those who have stood up to say “count me out”, and highlights the attributes and achievements we should be recognising if we wish to promote our sector in a way that resonates with the outside world. From GatheringPoint.news…
Mark O. Schloesser, Senior Venue Consultant, Gaining Edge, calls for a more holistic approach to data management within major event venues. Reliable data across all key disciplines is essential for success, but depends on having a culture of accuracy, transparency and accountability – how many venues can honestly claim to have this throughout their organisations?
Powered by 
