FORTNIGHTLY ROUNDUP


Marketing Edinburgh: a convention and visitors bureau embattled.

In this edition of Business Events World and on The Iceberg, the healthy medical and life sciences meetings business of the Scottish capital highlights what a tragedy it is that funding cuts are now decimating Marketing Edinburgh. The convention and visitors bureau’s very existence is under threat.

So in Features it is timely to watch video from the 33rd Summer School run by Iceberg partner European Cities Marketing. Best practice legacies were created at the event that will impact and benefit dozens of destinations for generations to come.

There are six other new Features this issue. With accessible knowledge hubs aplenty, Canada is increasingly “alluring” to global meetings and events. Business Events Sarawak is looking beyond business tourism towards social impact and legacy. Vancouver’s recent World Sleep 2019 event was the largest meeting ever held in the field, and featured a free-to-attend stream for the public.

The 45th Annual Meeting of EBMT (the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation) in Frankfurt, the world’s largest stem-cell therapy meeting, saw close cooperation between the city, venue and scientific community. This year the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi marks its 46th anniversary, with international meetings at its heart since 1973. Seoul and the wider South Korea have much to offer planners of meetings and incentives.

In meeting News this issue, final figures from SWIFT’s Sibos, the world’s largest gathering of financial services professionals, show that in fact 11,500 visitors and 300 exhibitors attended. MEETinLEEDS has just hosted the Communication Matters International Augmentative and Alternative Communication Conference. With five different formats spread across two co-located meetings, a festival of life sciences events has just taken place in the Congress Center Basel. Edinburgh’s world leading position in medical meetings is being reinforced by many sector events this autumn, as mentioned above. Dubai’s City Readiness Committee has declared all the preparations for Expo 2020 to be on track. Cape Town has been selected to host the FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2022. Athens has been chosen to host the 2023 Congress of the European Society for Organ Transplantation.

In venue News, Magazine London, one of the largest event spaces in the capital, has opened for business. The Palais des congrès de Montréal is opening its CITE Event Innovation and Technology Centre, to help connect organisers with the expertise of local startups. The Edinburgh International Conference Centre is partnering with the Edinburgh BioQuarter hub to raise further the profile of the Scottish life sciences sector.

In other destination marketing News, Meet Bristol, the English city’s convention bureau, has launched a conference ambassador programme. Meetings in Europe are increasing in number, but becoming shorter and smaller. So says the ninth edition of European Cities Marketing’s Meetings Statistics Report.

Six Opinions this issue are fresh. Magical Kenya Travel Expo 2019 has just run at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, with a session on business events headed up by Lance Gibbons, Publisher of Iceberg partner Event Africa. Fake and predatory conferences create confusion in the marketplace and siphon off the same audiences that legitimate events work so hard to attract and educate. What can be done?

Jeremy Rees, ExCeL London CEO, has been revealing his plans for the future of the venue. Convention centres are great places to exhibit large pieces of art: in Singapore, Sydney, Washington DC and Paris, tour four venues with significant installations. The London-based World Obesity Federation recently certified the Milano Convention Centre as the world’s first Gold Level Healthy Venue. What role can centres play in creating wellness legacies for their stakeholders? Plus: Jemma Peers, Commercial Director at Top Banana, explores sustainability and shares three quick wins the industry can start practicing for long-lasting impact.

In Research you’ll find added the UFI and Explori Global Visitor Insights (2018 / 2019 Edition).

Finally, and as always, The Iceberg reiterates its call for you to join our Global Ambassador Program. You can see Ambassadors listed on The Iceberg homepage, Ambassadors page, and in Business Events World below. Visit Call for Ambassadors 2019 & 2020 to find out more.

Until the next time…

Robert Coren, Curator of The Iceberg

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