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Beyond Tourism Event Legacies: BestCities’s Karen Bolinger

Many DMOs (Destination Marketing Organisations) have started to realise the true value of meetings and are tracking the social outcomes they deliver. Some governments include business events as part of policy. Karen Bolinger, Strategic Advisor at Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance, talks “beyond tourism” legacies. From City / Nation / Place…

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Coronavirus: 2020’s AIME Continues with Care and Confidence

Just in advance of Iceberg partner AIME, the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event, opening its doors in Melbourne, its Event Director Jay Martens discussed the way both the meeting itself and the wider industry sector have been coping with the twin crises of Australia’s bushfires and the subsequent coronavirus outbreak. From PCMA…

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UFI Global CEO Summit Pope Francis Vatican Address: Full Text

Attendees at the recent UFI Global CEO Summit in Rome were granted a private audience in the Vatican’s Sala Clementina with Pope Francis. His Holiness said that trade fairs and exhibitions were benefitting regional economies while “showcasing to the wider world the rich diversity and beauty of local cultures and ecosystems”. From UFI…

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BOCOM: The Right Time to be Holding a Multisite Conference

The Iceberg recently published German Convention Bureau MD Matthias Schultze’s views about the multisite BOCOM conference being held this April. As the coronavirus crisis devastates the whole global meetings industry, this borderless communication event’s approach could perhaps not be more timely. From Matthias Schultze via LinkedIn…

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Event Sustainability: Has the Emergency Already Been Sounded?

With a scientific consensus that we are already in a full-blown climate crisis, events are under widespread scrutiny for environmental impact. So are meetings now in a state of emergency? German Convention Bureau Director Matthias Schultze, UFI CEO Kai Hattendorf and Iceberg Founder James Latham are among the sector voices canvassed. From EventMB…

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ESTRO: Engagement Projects Rewrite the Rules of the RFP

Congress organisers at ESTRO, the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology, are requiring host destinations bidding for their events to help them connect with local communities and create lasting legacies in cancer care. They are doing so through the running of so-called “engagement projects”. Ideas for such initiatives, typically with stakeholder involvement from cancer specialists,…

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BestCities Global Forum Debates Legacy and the Congress of the Future

Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance has just staged its annual Forum under the theme “Exploring the Congress of the Future / Fortifying Impact”. Copenhagen Convention Bureau and BestCities published four future scenarios for congresses (see Research), and the CVB also launched its Legacy Lab. From Boardroom…

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DMCs, DMOs and the Market’s Disruption: An Incentive Perspective

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…

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ICC Wales: Big Parallel Room, Natural Daylight and No Soft Opening

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…

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Abu Dhabi: The Role of Meetings in Economic Vision 2030

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…

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“We Want the World to Know our Full Impact”, PCMA CEO

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…

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Incentives Core Market for Macau’s Galaxy International CC

Opening in 2021, Macau’s Galaxy International Convention Centre is aiming for the title of Asia’s most technologically advanced venue. Galaxy’s Director of Operations Development, Scott Kreeger, has been speaking about the facility at IBTM World in Barcelona, and says incentives will be one of its core markets. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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Associations Like Cities “Business-friendly”, Says GAHP

Cities with a “business-friendly” environment for international associations will find more of them opening offices, including regional headquarters, within their vicinity. So says Martin Sirk, International Adviser of Iceberg partner GAHP, the Global Association Hubs Partnership. New data on association office locations backs up the claim. From Association Meetings International…

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“Incredibly Exciting” as Te Pae Christchurch Nears Launch

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…

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