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The Inaugural Africa Association Summit Staged in Nairobi

Over 100 association executives from seven African countries have just gathered in the Kenyan capital Nairobi for the inaugural Africa Association Summit (AAS1). The two-day event was run by the African Society of Association Executives, in partnership with the Kenyatta International Convention Centre. AfSAE President Jeffers Miruka reports. From Boardroom…

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New Luxembourg CVB Looks to Double Major Meetings by 2024

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…

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HCB’s Florian Gerdes on Hamburg: Capital German Non-Capital

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…

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KLCC: Venues Can Help Build Local Links for Association Events

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…

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The Power of the Desk Photo, the Power of Incentive Travel

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…

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Sustainable Meetings: Understanding Event Impact on Society

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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Magical Kenya Travel Expo 2019: Business Events and Tourism

Magical Kenya Travel Expo 2019 has just run at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre. In a session on business events, Lance Gibbons, the Publisher of Iceberg partner Event Africa, headed up a discussion on the importance of the sector. Also contributing was Jeffers Miruka, President of African Society of Association Executives. From the Event…

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Davos: A High-Altitude Knowledge Hub for the AO Foundation

Davos is perhaps best known for staging the World Economic Forum, which gathers around 3,000 leading figures from business, politics and science every year. As such, it also has the expertise and capacity to host association events, as Professor Geoff Richards, Director of the AO Research Institute Davos, can testify. From Boardroom…

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Glasgow’s Culture of Events: Views from Across the Sectors

Glasgow will be welcoming 30,000 delegates, among them 200 world leaders, to discuss climate change at COP26 next year. The Glasgow Convention Bureau has also just reported best ever year-end results for conference business, attracting as well incentive and motivational events like KFC’s RGM Fest. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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The 33rd ECM Summer School: Learning the London Experience

London has just hosted the 33rd edition of the European Cities Marketing Summer School. This year’s event graduated 64 students from three continents, including four from the USA and Canada and five from South Africa. Brand new for 2019 was an innovative stronger connection between attendees and the host city. From European Cities Marketing…

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On the Border of Incentive Voyeurism: The Must-See DMZ

In issues 18, 33, 53 and 60 of The Iceberg’s fortnightly Business Events World, the importance of meetings has been discussed in terms of President Trump’s rapprochement with Kim Jong-un. Their summit venue, the Demilitarized Zone or DMZ, is also a fascinating outing for incentive delegates. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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The Netherlands: Four Cities, Four Meetings, Four Ambassadors

Holland’s network of thought leaders plays a key role in attracting international association events and enhancing the country’s reputation as a knowledge hub. Here four key influential figures, instrumental in winning bids for Utrecht, The Hague, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, discuss the experience. The group includes Professor Peter Reiss (pictured at AIDS 2018). From Boardroom…

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Overtourism: Hosting the Crowd, Without Crowding the Host

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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Nantes: Setting the Scene for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation is about to host its 36th World Conference at La Cité Nantes Congress Centre. IASP consulting director Jean-François Balducchi, from Atlanpole (the science-based business incubator for the whole Pays de la Loire region), discusses the fit of event and destination. Photo: LisaRlld. From Boardroom…

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CVB Alliance Publishes Europe as a Meetings Destination Study

With the aim of analysing Europe’s potential as a meetings destination, a recent report, supported by nine members of the Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe, has identified economic, socio-political, technological and other industry trends that are now affecting the European meetings community. From Meetings International…

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DAC 2019: Measuring Legacy and the Societal Impact of Associations

During the 2017 Dubai Association Conference, the impact generated by associations was a key theme. Two years on, the second edition of the conference this December at the Dubai World Trade Centre will focus on the larger roles played across global society and “the societal impact of associations”. From Boardroom…

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