Partnering to transform skills in emerging destinations, ICCA (the International Congress and Convention Association) and UNWTO (the World Tourism Organization) have been holding a series called “Masterclasses on the Meetings Industry”, the first taking place in Uzbekistan, the second in Kazakhstan, and the third soon in Georgia. From Travel Daily News International…
Convening Leaders, the flagship event of PCMA (the Professional Convention Management Association), is taking place in January at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. Setting out the agenda and stage for this major industry meet, PCMA President and CEO Sherrif Karamat explains how debate has shifted towards the outcomes and impact created by the sector. From PCMA…
Gothenburg has lead Iceberg partner GDS-Index, the Global Destination Sustainability Index, for the fourth year running. The listing ranks sustainability performance in 50 business event destinations. At 58th ICCA Congress in Houston the GDS-Index Awards were announced as well, with Sydney receiving the Innovation trophy. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Ulrike von Arnold, Deputy Director of the Vienna Convention Bureau, has received one of the meeting industry’s highest honours, ICCA’s Moises Shuster Award. The award announcement was made at the 58th ICCA Congress in Houston. Past winners include Paul Flackett, Martin Lewis, Ray Bloom, Connie Cheng and Christian Mutschlechner. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
With almost 1,000 senior meetings professionals and association event planners from 75 countries coming to Houston, Texas, the recent 58th Congress of Iceberg partner ICCA, the International Congress and Convention Association, was the largest ever held in North America. The event is one of the industry calendar’s most significant. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The trend toward plant-based diets has made headlines recently, and this June the first Plant Based World Conference & Expo launched at the Javits Center in New York City. The inaugural event welcomed 3,737 attendees, including professionals from retail, specialty restaurant and food service, healthcare and distributors. From PCMA…
Gina Glantz is the co-founder of the advocacy campaign GenderAvenger, and the global lead champion of meetings booking panels and not manels. Already recently profiled in these pages, she has just filmed an interview for the video series PCMA Ascent Luminaries, which promotes diversity and inclusion in business events. From PCMA…
Some US convention centres have chosen not to donate leftover food from events because they believe it opens them up to legal liability if any illness is attributed to it. But an act of law passed during the Clinton years actually waives donor liability except in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct. From PCMA…
Convention centres are great places to exhibit the largest pieces of art. In Singapore, Sydney, Washington DC and Paris, four venues have placed significant works on display, from contemporary legends like Anthony Gormley and Anish Kapoor, to First Nations’ art in Australia, to Europe’s largest fresco (pictured). From Association Meetings International…
City leaders hope to fund a major expansion of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (pictured) by selling off another of the city’s big meeting venues. The Governor’s administration intends to sell the Hynes Convention Center in the Boston Back Bay neighbourhood, and to “consolidate” convention business in one location. From Association Meetings International…
The ninth edition of IMEX America came to a close in Las Vegas after an “imaginative” week that saw a three percent increase in pre-scheduled appointments between buyers and exhibitors, with 76,000 recorded. Industry firsts during the exhibition included the launching of the Event Industry Council’s new Centre for Sustainable Events. From Association Meetings International…
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…
During August, Iceberg partner Positive Impact conducted a survey of event industry commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Over 7,000 pledges from 58 countries were received, like using only plant-based food to reduce carbon footprint. In a video from outside UN HQ in New York, CEO Fiona Pelham explains. From Positive Impact via YouTube…
The first time Gina Glantz used social media to call out the lack of women on a conference panel, she was “rebuked”. This ultimately led to the foundation of the campaigning nonprofit GenderAvenger, and later a change in how meetings respond to the naming and shaming of sessions which only schedule “manels”. From PCMA…
Iceberg partner Positive Impact has been campaigning for the meetings industry to align its activity to the framework of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. An industry survey that was conducted during August is being submitted to the UN itself. In a further video recorded at IMEX America, CEO Fiona Pelham explains. From IMEX via YouTube…
It is with great regret and disappointment that we have made the difficult decision to cancel IMEX America 2020. Our industry has been impacted heavily by the global lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and we know how many of you were looking forward to coming together again in Las Vegas…
AMR International in this white paper explores the developments and opportunities for organizers in the US exhibitions industry. This is essential reading for US event organizers and investors. What to expect: New insights into the exhibition industry’s performance and outlook Understanding of the evolving needs of attendees and exhibitors Details on AMR’s Exhibitions 2.0 model…
Three major associations have each won $7,500 to develop trailblazing legacy programmes attached to their events. This year’s Incredible Impacts awards given by Iceberg partners ICCA and BestCities Global Alliance recognised the European Lung Foundation, International AIDS Society (pictured) and International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. From Association Meetings International…
Denver is the latest city, and the fourth in the US, to join Iceberg partner the Global Destination Sustainability Index. The Colorado capital’s sustainability credentials as both convention city and destination include the LEED Gold certified Colorado Convention Center with its own sustainability programme, green hotels and citywide bike sharing. From Boardroom…
Flight-shaming, which many believe started in Sweden, has not reached the US yet, which basks in the glow of a demand boom. Greta Thunberg, the pioneering young eco-warrior (pictured), crossed the Atlantic in a yacht to avoid flying to two major climate summits. How realistic is idealism? From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…
When tourist visitors to a city greatly outnumber the resident population, it’s not hard to understand locals feeling crowded, some to the point of revolt. But is overtourism an issue for the meetings industry? What have selfie-stick wielding hordes that descend seasonally on top destinations have to do with business events? From PCMA…
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