After a brief return home from IMEX, The Iceberg found itself a guest of Visit Brussels at the European Association Summit 2017. Almost 200 of the sector’s leading players enjoyed two days of education and networking at Square Brussels Meeting Centre, overlooking Mont des Arts and its immaculate garden (above). Full coverage in a future Business Events World.
But in this issue, our IMEX video stories stay live in Features. Further down, The Iceberg publishes its second JMIC Case Study. This assesses the Swiss Fintech Corner, a group of local start-ups exhibiting during Sibos 2016 in Geneva last September. In Research we post The Future of DMOs: The ECM Manifest from European Cities Marketing.
In News we update past stories: Trump Travel Ban II is heading to SCOTUS, and the US large electronics ban thankfully won’t extend to flights from Europe. There’s also a great legacy potential to MPI UK & Ireland’s Events Apprenticeship Support Scheme.
News in addition has more DMO ebb and flow. Visit Florida’s budget finally looks safe, but the national Brand USA’s is now under threat. We have three views on that in Opinions, a piece on British Airways’ IT meltdown, and a salute to the resilience of Manchester in the aftermath of a truly sickening terror attack.
In News we also publish tributes to the legendary incentive travel advocate Jane E. Schuldt, who has died aged 63. I fondly remember filming an interview with her at the SITE Executive Summit in Dubai two years ago. She’ll be greatly missed by all at SITE and the wider industry.
Finally, don’t forget that Global Exhibitions Day takes place this coming Wednesday June 7th! Full coverage next issue.
Robert Coren, Curator of The Iceberg
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IMEX 2017 in Frankfurt saw the launch of one initiative rather complementary in its aims to what the Joint Meetings Industry Council and The Iceberg are also trying to achieve. ICCA – the International Congress and Convention Association – and BestCities Global Alliance announced that associations whose meetings have a great legacy story to tell will be able to apply for…
IMEX 2017 – the largest ever running of the show – officially opened on May 16 with a state of the industry address from IMEX Group Chairman Ray Bloom. German Convention Bureau Managing Director Matthias Schultze also spoke – in strong support of unfettered movement across borders – and the opening keynote came in the form of a unique city perspective on the…
Vilnius, capital of the Republic of Lithuania in Northern Europe, was the host for CONVENE earlier this year and has long been a leading events destination in the region. Now the new Go Vilnius agency will link up the city’s marketing with its more strategic economic goals of attracting investment and talent. From tmf dialogue marketing…
At PCMA Convening Leaders in Texas, collaborative education by IAPCO (the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers) and the event hosts reinforced the need for global association education strategies to be applied locally. Having a professional congress organizer (PCO) that understands the importance of locally-sourced intellectual capital – and that is aligned to the mission of the association – can…
Sarah Fleming Associates has always maintained that in order to successfully engage a potential buyer and to attract conference business to any city or destination, it is important to be able to put forward a strong business case for holding an event or conference in the city. An effective lead generation programme should therefore focus on…
For more than fifty years the Antwerp Zoo Society has used the proceeds of its event spaces to support a very unique CSR undertaking… the operation of one of the oldest and most important zoological facilities in the world. Now, with the opening of the new Flanders Meeting and Convention Center Antwerp (FMCCA), this commitment will be…
In an emerging economy, sometimes the most valuable role a convention centre can play is one that, while essential to its own success, is also a generator of transferrable skills that will support development in many adjacent areas of the local economy. Such is the case with the Borneo Convention Centre in Kuching, Sarawak, where…
Under the leadership of its first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore became something of an economic miracle for a city-state which only gained independence from Malaysia in 1965. And despite a population of just over five million, the destination has transformed itself from Third World to First World in a single generation. It is now firmly established as a gateway…
Why Sibos and Geneva were the perfect match… The Geneva Convention Bureau has recently restructured its marketing communications and resources in order to align its bids to the city’s growth agenda. It has taken nearly two years to develop the organisational knowledge of – and relations within – the key clusters of industry identified by the Economic Development Office…
Boston has throughout its history been a main gateway for foreign migration into the USA. Now as the treatment of outsiders moves right to the heart of US politics, the President of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce James E Rooney reaffirms the city’s reliance on the innovation that comes with immigration. From Intellectual Capitals…
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The second of a series of high-level academic case studies investigating meetings legacies has been published on The Iceberg and Business Events World. The report has been prepared as part of the Joint Meetings Industry Council’s Case Study Program – see the video below – and adheres to strict academic criteria. It is research-based, includes valid measurable data, and has…
After the 10-3 ruling of a federal appeals court that Trump Travel Ban II probably violates the Constitution and “drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination”, the Justice Department has asked the US Supreme Court – the nation’s highest legal authority – immediately to reinstate it. The Trump administration says the US will be safer under Executive Order 13780. From Meetings & Conventions…
After a rollercoaster ride, Visit Florida and the saga of its budget allocation may in the final reel be getting a fairytale ending. Governor Rick Scott and Florida legislators have hammered out an agreement to continue with the current funding of $76m. If there are any further shocks before the credits roll we’ll let you know. Photo: Dancorona21. From Meetings & Conventions…
Bursaries of up to £2,500 are being made available to meetings industry employers taking on apprentices. The Events Apprenticeship Support Scheme has been launched by MPI UK & Ireland, and its grants will be for companies offering apprenticeships under the Government-supported “trailblazer” standard. Funds are to be raised at a charity party being held after The Meetings Show. From Meetpie.com…
To audible sighs of relief from much of the international meetings industry, the US Department of Homeland Security has announced that America will not extend to flights from Europe its ban on carrying large electronic devices in passenger cabins. A bar is currently in force on flights from ten Middle East and North African airports. From Travel Weekly…
Brand USA – the organisation promoting the US as a welcome destination for visitors – is to lose its federal funding under a proposed new budget from President Trump. The move has been attacked by US Travel association President Roger Dow as throwing away an $8.9 billion contribution to the economy and 28-to-1 return on investment. From Meetings & Conventions…
The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) community is mourning the loss of its former president and legendary industry advocate Jane E. Schuldt, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 63. During Schuldt’s presidency in 1991, she focused on globalizing SITE by launching local chapters and designing local education with a global message. She vociferously championed SITE’s code of ethics,…
JMIC Unity Award winner and IMEX Group Chairman Ray Bloom has called IMEX 2017 “our largest and most innovative show ever”. Close to 9,000 hosted buyers and visitors attended the event in Frankfurt. Total appointments between buyers and the show’s 3,500 exhibitors rose to 68,500. And IMEX took a more experiential approach this year with EduMonday. From Meetpie.com…
Ray Bloom, IMEX Group Chairman (right), won the Joint Meetings Industry Council’s Unity Award at the 15th annual IMEX Gala Dinner. It was presented to him by JMIC President Joachim König. Eleven other IMEX Academy Awards were also given out at the Alte Oper, a concert hall in Frankfurt. From Meetings and Conventions…
As well as in the opening keynote – see “A View of the City” in Features above – the unique perspective of urbanist Professor Greg Clark was also at the heart of the IMEX Politicians Forum. The meeting was attended by almost 30 international government officials and policymakers, as well as by 80 industry leaders. From Successful Meetings…
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The Geneva Convention Bureau has adopted a policy of promoting Geneva not only as a destination but also as a center of economic, knowledge and innovation excellence. It does this by marketing meetings and events in relation to local key clusters of industry. As a result, a dynamic and virtuous feedback loop is established between Geneva’s economic or knowledge…
This research by Business Events Sydney (BESydney) demonstrates that business events offer delegates unrestricted exposure to innovative ideas and opportunities to develop new knowledge and skills. Part of the Beyond Tourism Benefits series, the new study by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) – Conferences: Catalysts for Thriving Economies – provides further evidence showing that…
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The future belongs to cities. To be specific, the future belongs to cities that can attract the brightest and the best people, and encourage them to thrive. Today cities compete nationally and internationally to attract businesses, skilled migrants, and of course visitors. However, to an increasingly globalised population a city’s postcard views and monuments matter…
The Global Association Hubs Partnership (GAHP) was created by Brussels, Dubai, Singapore, and Washington DC to engage with the international association community as a trusted partner for international growth. A key component of the GAHP strategy is to feed this dialogue with original research-based content and to provide education and networking opportunities for association decision…
The meetings and conventions industry is evolving into a global innovation distribution channel. Over the last decade, convention bureaus have been collaborating more strategically with their local and state governments, economic development agencies, academic and scienti c institutions, and local business improvement districts to better leverage the value of conventions in their cities, especially those aligned…
The Association of AACB’s latest analysis of bids won, bids lost and the bid pipeline highlights that while its members have secured 360 international business events in the Forward Calendar (as at July 2016), 235 bids had been lost for the next decade. This lost business is estimated to be valued at AU$805m in direct…
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More on the fight for Brand USA! MPI President and CEO Paul van Deventer has attacked the proposed cutting of its federal funding. He points out that meetings contribute 15% of the overall US travel and tourism dividend. Also campaigning on the grounds of economic contribution, Katie O’Neill of the Power of Travel Coalition. From Meetpie.com…
The fight for Brand USA continues. A loud voice of opposition to the proposed cut to the organisation’s federal funding, US Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow, has made a video calling for a rethink and encouraging Congress to keep funding in place. Congress has the final say, and has previously supported Brand USA. From Meetings & Conventions…
How does President Trump’s proposed withdrawal of funding for Brand USA – the Obama-created organisation which promotes the US as a welcoming destination for visitors – square with his commitment to putting American jobs first? Two key president CEOs – the US Travel Association’s Roger Dow and PCMA’s Deborah Sexton – lead the meetings industry call to arms. By David McMillin at PCMA…
The Iceberg prefers to cover travel news directly impacting the meetings industry. But like the story of United Airlines before it, British Airways and its IT outage – which grounded flights around the world and caused chaos at Heathrow and Gatwick airports – is in truth a cautionary tale of crisis and brand mismanagement for all to hear. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
The horrific suicide bombing at a concert in Manchester Arena was the deadliest terror attack in the UK for almost twelve years. In weeks to come it will pose tough questions for venue operators and the rest of the industry. But the days immediately following the outrage were for reflection and solidarity. Photo: Tomasz Kozlowski. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
IMEX is now over for another year. The last day may be like Sunday at the Glastonbury Festival – perhaps with slightly less mud – but in amongst the networking frenzy and preparations for a return to reality, take a quiet moment to appreciate IMEX’s spiritual home… the German city of Frankfurt. From the editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
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In this free webcast moderated by Incentive’s Leo Jakobson, attendees will learn everything they need to know to run an effective employee loyalty recognition program. The session will offer a step-by-step guide on how to create the rules structure, promote the program, track participant performance, deliver the awards, and measure the results.
Excellent business opportunities, outstanding networking activities, and great academic program. More than 25 hosted buyers, top leaders of Latin American, Panamerican and Iberoamerican Associations will be present; clients and members will be able to share from the beginning a full social program based in a team-building experience provided by the Local Host Committee. Our academic program…
MPI is proud to present Sunshine Education Summit 2017 (SES), where the business of meetings and events showcases the resources, beauty and energy of Florida. Sunshine Education Summit 2017 will feature cutting-edge industry education that addresses the hottest topics and issues affecting meetings and events professionals—at all levels—through learning styles that range from invigorating keynotes to interactive classes.
Summer School is an unmissable learning opportunity for all professionals working in Convention Bureaux, Tourist Offices, Congress Centres, Airlines, Hotels, DMCs, PCOs & Meeting Planners! The aim is to equip professionals with the latest marketing tools and to help them to develop the knowledge and skills required for a successful career in conference, meetings and event…
This intimate invite-only educational event brings together 25 global planners from top associations and corporations, along with 15 senior-level suppliers from the region, representing convention bureaus and centers. The conference’s goal is for all participants to gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities available throughout APAC and how to maximize business events in the region.
M&IT offer a number of training webinars which are tailored to the conference, meetings and events industry, for both suppliers and buyers to better understand the market, including Social Media for Events; The Venue Contracts Minefield; Health, Safety & Risk Assessments; The Bribery Act; Data Protection in Events.
Are you convinced that the future of the events industry can only be ensured by qualitatively well-trained event buyers and specialists in event technology? As a training company, do you want to contribute and support 100PRO – the training initiative of the event management? 100PRO is voluntary, free and fair…
Capturing valuable insights and conversations: Be immersed in engaging live or virtual technologies with MCI proven expertise to be aware of the latest trends. Explore the key topics that affect your business environment through the unique insights of MCI’s industry experts.
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Consult with merchandise and gift card experts in pre-scheduled one-on-one appointments and insightful educational sessions, while enjoying a fully hosted, three-night stay at the Sonesta Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, FL, from July 10-12, 2017.
In 2017, we continue our promise to educate, inspire and inform as we travel to Montreal, Canada, who will be hosting our conference during the 375th anniversary of this historic city. DMAI’s Annual Convention provides a unique opportunity to connect with and learn from your peers and thought leaders from inside and outside the industry.
Experience the modern way to engage with customers through creative and interactive learning and teamwork. The M&IT Agency Challenge brings together suppliers and senior personnel from leading agencies in M&IT’s interactive mix of work and fun, education and competition, creativity and inspiration.
Connect with the top hotels, CVBs, DMCs, and venues from across Colorado in pre-scheduled one-on-one appointments and unique experiential networking events, while enjoying a fully hosted, two-night stay at The Sheraton Denver Downtown from July 23-25, 2017.
The 1-2-1 Asia Business Meet brings together hand-picked buyers and invitation-only suppliers for strategic one-to-one meetings, results driven networking opportunities and dynamic team-building exercises. The 1-2-1 Asia Business Meet focuses on fostering long-term relationships with major Asian MICE players. It aims to bring together pre-qualified buyers from Europe, North America, Asia and leading Asian suppliers of…
At a macro level, the Asian market continues to hold great promise given her rising affluence, reasonable GDP growth and regional collaborations. With all these factors at play, how has our industry leveraged on opportunities in “our backyard” and engaged our community? At a micro level, the rise of technology is a double-edged sword – improving…
Whether you’re looking for introductory learning on new-to-you topics or are hunting for strategic approaches to current challenges, you’ll find the learning you and your association needs at #ASAE17. Learn about the education curation process!
The ICCA Central European Chapter meeting will take place in Lviv, Ukraine from 17 August – 19 August 2017. This is an annual meeting open to ICCA members and for non-members by invitation only.
Access a world of business opportunities at your fingertips. ibtm china is where meetings, events and incentives industry decision makers meet to do business. We unite global suppliers with highly qualified Chinese and international events and meeting planners for two inspirational days of business, networking and education.
ibtm® latin america, part of ibtm® events, is the place where leaders, organizers and specialized suppliers for congresses, conventions, corporate events and incentives meet for business adventures. For suppliers to the industry it’s the place to develop new business leads, increase their sales, and promote their company and brands in the Americas, Latin America and…
Connect with the top hotels, CVBs, DMCs, and venues from across the Southeast in pre-scheduled one-on-one appointments and unique experiential networking events, while enjoying a fully hosted, three-night stay at Nobu Hotel Eden Roc Resort in Miami Beach from September 10-13, 2017.
The SITE Foundation’s most prestigious fundraising event includes a select group of incentive travel buyers and top industry suppliers that come together for three days of business-networking, education and activities that showcase the destination.
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