Opinions

  • Category

  • Sector

  • Host Destinations

Found 264 Opinions

Viewing all Opinions

AACB’s Andrew Hiebl: Australia’s Return to Business Events

Australia’s recent reopening to the world, and the lifting of domestic border closures and restrictions, makes this an important moment in the county’s business events sector. Andrew Hiebl, the CEO of AACB (the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux), discusses the upcoming pipeline plus Tourism Australia’s Business Events Bid Fund. From Association Meetings International…

Read More

AC Forum President Carola van der Hoeff: Adapt and Diversify

Carola van der Hoeff is the new President of AC Forum (Associations and Conference Forum). In a broad interview on the Deep Dive podcast she discusses restarting association events, changing business models, building back better and organising her first webinar. As well as that, she looks forward to face-to-face IMEX meetings. From Associations Meetings International…

Read More

BESarawak: the Lasting Literary Legacies of the Longhouse Library

Community libraries in Sarawak, Malaysia, are leaving incredible legacies. One of them, Batang Ai’s Nanga Ukom Longhouse Library, is even a business events CSR project organised by BESarawak together with Iceberg partner ICCA on the occasion of Kuching, Sarawak, staging the Asia Pacific Regional Hub of the 59th ICCA Congress. From Options…

Read More

MCI’s Nikki Walker: Associations and Events Through the Pandemic

According to Nikki Walker, who is Global Vice President Engagement, Associations and Communities at Iceberg partner MCI, associations are craving to get back to meeting face-to-face, yet prefer to hold a fully virtual substitute rather than hybrid. In this Deep Dive podcast, Walker examines how associations have evolved through COVID. From Associations Meetings International…  

Read More

BESarawak Legacies: Celebrate the Past to Awaken the Future

“MICE” is a term long-associated with the meetings sector. But now the small and wily mouse-deer of Malaysian folklore has become a metaphor for how Business Events Sarawak has crossed the river after the pandemic and resumed business events activities through its Legacy Impact Initiative. Photo: Dave Curtis. By Jane Vong Holmes, Senior Manager Asia, GainingEdge….

Read More

UK Events: The £84bn Sector That Deserves Government Respect

The UK events industry as a whole is a vastly fragmented animal, before the pandemic worth £84 billion to the country every year. This leading article from Martin Fullard is a direct message for the UK’s Government, which calls for the industry now to be shown the respect it deserves. From Conference News…

Read More

COP26: Hosting the Ultimate International Climate Change Event

In terms of legacies left for the planet, COP26 is surely the most important business event ever to come to the UK. But what does it mean for Glasgow to deliver this ultimate global climate meeting? Voices include Iceberg ambassador Aileen Crawford, Glasgow Life Head of Tourism and Conventions. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

Read More

A Line of COPs: An Isla Conference of Parties Historical Guide

Just what is COP26, and why should it matter to meetings professionals? Sustainability not-for-profit isla put together this handy historical guide in advance of the Glasgow COP26 conference. Which destinations have hosted previous COPs, and what legacies did they create, if the climate emergency is still upon us? From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

Read More

AMI Podcast: Legacy, #MEET4IMPACT and Geneviève Leclerc

Geneviève Leclerc, the Managing Director of the International Society of Limnology, tells AMI’s Deep Dive podcast about #MEET4IMPACT, the not-for-profit Iceberg partner she co-founded in 2019. This facilitates associations and host destinations in creating more sustainable and more impactful meetings to the benefit of society. From Association Meetings International…

Read More

Pandemic Partnerships: CVBs, DMOs and EDOs Working Together

The pandemic has given convention bureaux a fresh chance to partner with their economic development agencies to benefit the destination over the short and long term in new and often fruitful ways. In fact, this is one of three central trends identified in the DestinationNEXT 2021 Futures Study just released. From PCMA…

Read More

Events UnPaused: The Five-Part Podcast from Maritz Global Events

An exploration of how the COVID crisis has impacted the meetings industry, Iceberg partner Maritz Global Events’ five-part podcast “Events UnPaused”, presented by President David Peckinpaugh, is chock-full of insights. The final episode is called “The Future of Events and Where the Industry Is Going”. From PCMA…

Read More

Forward to our Future: 60th ICCA Congress Heads to Cartagena

The 60th Annual ICCA Congress will take the global association meetings industry to Cartagena in Colombia under the banner “Forward to our Future”. The Iceberg partner event established the Kaohsiung Protocol (pictured), a framework document for the industry, in 2020, and 2021 maintains a collaborative approach to reinventing business operations. From the Event…

Read More

Associations in Society: Contributing to the Wider Social Good

The intersecting crises of the pandemic, climate change and increasing inequality are compelling associations to repurpose and serve not just their members but society itself as well. This includes making commitments about sustainability, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). From Boardroom…

Read More

Tokyo 2020: Staging a Hybrid Global Event Too Big to Fail

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were the most expensive to date, and too big to fail, despite ongoing challenges from the pandemic. Gary Grimmer, the Executive Chairman of Iceberg partner GainingEdge, says they make a timely case study for planners and destinations in the new paradigm of broadcast-friendly hybrid events. From Meetings & Conventions Asia…

Read More

Associations, Meetings, Destinations: Changed Rules Post Pandemic?

The relationship between major associations and the cities hosting their meetings, although generally happy and fruitful, is beset by the similar issues to any relationship essentially transactional in nature. So, how will things change in the industry landscape redrawn by COVID-19? From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…

Read More