Lyn Lewis-Smith, CEO of Business Events Sydney, recently joined a Trans-Tasman Business Circle’s #womenintechontour visiting San Francisco and Silicon Valley to gather intelligence on the skills and talent attraction strategies of US multinational corporations. Global meeting attendees present a ripe opportunity that is currently being overlooked. From Lyn Lewis-Smith via LinkedIn…
As event organisers attract bigger audiences, they can outgrow the centres that once hosted them. But expansion of those venues is a tall order since most involve public funding. Getting buy-in for major investment may mean navigating a complex political maze, wrangling support, and explaining why a centre matters to a city’s economy. From PCMA…
A global initiative to address plastic use at events has just been launched by Iceberg partner Positive Impact, supported by the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The campaign is collecting usage data as well as encouraging the switch to alternative materials, and began when the two organisations’ CEOs met at a conference. From PCMA…
Canada’s capital, Ottawa, is to launch a conference ambassador programme. Together Ottawa Tourism, the Shaw Centre (above) and Invest Ottawa will offer bespoke support to local experts becoming “trailblazers” by helping the city to secure major meetings. ThinkOttawa will work with its ambassadors to prepare bid documents and provide support. From Association Meetings International…
Over nine million guests have visited the Vancouver Convention Centre from across the world in its ten year history, generating more than $2.4 billion in direct spend for British Columbia. The events held at the venue include TED conferences, trade shows, corporate meetings, banquets and fundraisers. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Quebec’s forestry is both extremely beautiful, especially in Autumn, and also a major resource and industry for the region. Now the province is building on sector innovation to host Woodrise 2019, the second world congress on midrise and tall wood buildings. The event should attract over 1,000 international construction professionals. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
Funding has been approved for a $500 million expansion that will double the size of Calgary’s BMO Centre to almost a million square feet and transform it into Canada’s second-largest venue. The further funding will create new spaces for hosting conferences, meetings and exhibitions, to help attract larger conventions and events. From Meetings International…
From campaigns in Atlanta and New York combating human trafficking, to a visit to Washington DC and Capitol Hill sharing the sector’s economic value with members of Congress, the global meetings industry came together on April 4th at events all around the world to create legacies for Global Meetings Industry Day. From PCMA…
The Iceberg is publishing a series of interviews about the globalisation of large associations. These are jointly produced by partners Boardroom and the Global Association Hubs Partnership. Matthew D’Uva, CEO of the Washington DC-headquartered International Association for the Study of Pain, describes reaching 100 chapters around the world. From Global Association Hubs Partnership…
The latest Meetings Market Survey from the Professional Convention Management Association has revealed a growth in meeting attendance with a further rise expected next year. Considered to be a barometer for the industry, the survey found attendance for 2018 up five percent. It had risen by 3.6 percent in 2017. From Association Meetings International…
Are openly hostile immigration policies in the UK and US making it harder for delegates from lower income countries to attend scientific meetings? Here’s a round up from both sides of the pond of events that have faced very high levels of visa rejections with delegates attending from developing nations. From Association Meetings International…
How hard has the art of putting together panels become in an age more finely attuned to gender inequality? In the run up to International Women’s Day, a conference came under fire for being too sure it was booking panels, not manels. It invited only women scientists to speak. From PCMA…
Montreal, a city cofounded by the first lay nurse in North America, has secured the International Council of Nurses Congress in 2023. More than 8,000 nursing professionals are set to attend the event, which is expected to generate almost $21.4 million in economic benefit for Montreal and Quebec. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
It’s been a busy year for James Rees, Executive Director of ExCeL London. Following election as ICCA President in November 2018, Rees reveals his approach to the US market, to diversity at both ExCeL and ICCA, and how being in a New Romantic pop band helped him thrive in the events industry. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Annual Meetings Market Survey just added two new questions about whether or not corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability are usually part of event planning. More than half of respondents did not make CSR part of their event, and the environment was top of mind (in RFPs) for only eleven percent. From PCMA…
The TED Radio Hour just interviewed Yassmin Abdel-Magied, an Australian author, TV personality, and founder of Youth Without Borders. In April 2018 Abdel-Magied traveled to the US to speak at an event, but was denied entry because her country of birth, Sudan, was on President Trump’s original travel ban. From PCMA…
Elliott Ferguson, President and CEO of Destination DC (as well as the new National chair of the US Travel Association), has been speaking about his city’s future strategy and new developments. Washington DC is the US number one spot for international association meetings, according to the last ICCA Statistics Report. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
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Paul is Executive Consultant with GainingEdge, an international leader in meetings, conventions and business events consulting and management. Paul has provided advice on assignments in Canada, the United States, Denmark, Brazil, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Aruba, Panama, and Thailand, and has been an invited speaker in Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Through GainingEdge, Paul…
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Geneviève is a Canadian industry professional based in Montreal. She has 26 years of experience in congress management and consultancy services for national and international associations and has managed international events in over 20 countries. Geneviève has been active at elevating the industry’s capacity in sustainability and value creation since 2006, when she was an…
During the workshop, the participating clients get the opportunity to meet people from a minimum of nine or a maximum of fourteen other bureaux. They make initial contact with the sales team as well as learn the suitability (or otherwise) of the destinations in a way that would otherwise have been time consuming and would have…
Washington DC has staked its claim as a leader in sustainability, passing the most aggressive, fastest-acting climate change legislation in the United States. Destination DC, the district’s destination marketing organisation, is pitching for more meetings within the sector off the back of these strengths. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
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