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In what way does the purpose of DMCs (Destination Management Companies) change in a market disrupted by the Internet? What happens when the core value proposition of “local knowledge, expertise and connections” is accessible, sometimes more efficiently and affordably, via other platforms? From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
England and Scotland have many established convention centres, but finding a home for one in Wales was problematic until Celtic Manor went fifty-fifty with the Welsh government on the £83 million ICC Wales. CEO Ian Edwards runs through the long consultation process that decided what the new venue should be. From Association Meetings International…
Mubarak Al Shamsi, Director of the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, has been speaking about the emirate’s Economic Vision 2030, and the part played in it by business events. New infrastructure includes Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company’s The Hive, and its 80-seat auditorium The Collaboratorium. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Retail conference Shoptalk has just announced that its next conference, to be held in Las Vegas next March, will feature an all-women speaker lineup, including both the track sessions and main stage keynotes. The decision has been applauded as a bold move, but is not uniformly seen as a good idea. From PCMA…
Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre is set to open for its first conference in just under a year. The New Zealand College of Midwives’ 16th Biennial National Conference will launch the venue next October. This will be shortly followed by the International Association of Ecology 11th International Wetlands Conference. From AIME…
“The majority of disabled people don’t travel to conferences because they expect their needs will not be met”. So says Alan Broadbent, an accessibility writer and consultant to the events industry. Three examples of inclusivity, a venue (ICC Wales), a meeting (Glasgow’s IASSIDD World Congress) and a city (Dubai), are analysed. From Association Meetings International…
Business Events Luxembourg was created at the end of 2018 by the Ministry of the Economy of the Grand Duchy and the City of Luxembourg. It is the convention bureau for a destination striving to attract meetings in the government defined key sectors for economic growth: automobility, ICT, space, cleantech and life sciences. From Boardroom…
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…
One of the biggest takeaways from the World Wildlife Fund’s research into ending food waste occurring in commercial kitchens was the need to clearly better communicate with meeting planners about the multiple ways in which they can reduce food waste. So says Monica McBride of WWF, who lists some approaches to follow. From PCMA…
It’s clear that food production and consumption needs to change, and radically, to safeguard the planet and feed a growing population. The best place to start for the business events industry is with food waste, and now the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has been working on food conservation in convention centre kitchens and hotels. From PCMA…
Florian Gerdes is Marketing Manager Conventions at HCB, the Hamburg Convention Bureau. He describes here HCB’s approach to subvention during low demand, the relationship Hamburg has with UK, what the city has to offer the planners organising within prioritised knowledge sectors, its competition with Berlin and its recent secured bid wins. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Can venues help bridge the divide that often lies between international associations and their local hosts or chapters in the event destination? Angeline van den Broecke, Director of Global Business Development and Marketing at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, believes they can, and in the process ensure the success of major congresses. From Boardroom…
Salespeople used to visualise reward for success through pictures placed on their desk, of a sports car, dream home or paradise location. Agency Strata Creative Communications’s Client Services Director and Head of Incentives, Mike Parrott, spells out how modern incentive events drive effective and sustainable growth in performance. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Swedish concept of “flygskam” or “flight shame” is starting to affect air travel. So says new research from UBS, which claims that one person in five is actively reducing the flights they take for environmental reasons. What do event professionals make of the possible impact, on incentive travel especially? From Conference & Incentive Travel via AIME…
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…
Sustainability continues to rise up the agenda across meetings and events, and two Iceberg partner specialists in this area have turned up in a series of video interviews on the subject filmed at IMEX America, Positive Impact’s Fiona Pelham and the Global Destination Sustainability Index’s Guy Bigwood. From Endless Events…
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