Opinions

  • Category

  • Sector

  • Host Destinations

Found 184 Opinions

Viewing all Opinions

MITEC Hosts First Major Business Event: PM and 4,500 Delegates Attend

The Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) has just hosted a major business event, the first during the country’s COVID-19 Recovery Movement Control Order. With strict safety protocols in place, the one-day meeting attracted over 4,500 people, including Malaysia’s Prime Minister and other senior ministers. From Association Meetings International…

Read More

Ready to Reopen: US Convention Facilities Prepare Clean Future

When the time comes for in person events to start up again, convention centres across the US will be ready to deliver an experience prioritising health and safety. Much of that will be the result of new technologies, new cleaning protocols, and new staff positions that venues have in place. From Associations Now…

Read More

PCMA Collaborates on Virtual Event Covering MI Business Models

The pandemic is forcing so many sectors to rethink how they operate, including business events. So PCMA, the 7,000-member association for the industry, collaborated with the National Speakers Association and also the International Association of Speakers Bureaus on a virtual event addressing new business models. From Forbes…

Read More

The Bulb Launches Post-Lockdown Event Sustainability Guide

The Bulb, a UK-based sustainable event consultancy, has released a guide to help meeting organisers to navigate the “new normal” and make sure the progress made in creating a sustainable industry is not lost. The increase in need for PPE (personal protective equipment) has seen a rise in plastic pollution. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

Read More

Small is Beautiful: The Future of Association Business Events

International association meetings, particularly those that are attracting thousands of delegates, were once the prized targets of all convention bureaux. COVID-19 has made the immediate future smaller and more regional. But this trend was already underway and should not frighten destination marketing organisations. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…

Read More

Webcast: Meeting and Event Design Accepted Practices Guide

The Events Industry Council just released the “Meeting and Event Design Accepted Practices Guide” (see Research). More guides are to come from the EIC powered APEX COVID-19 Business Recovery Task Force. A webcast offered insights and answered audience questions about the new document. From Northstar Meetings Group…

Read More

A Reality Check for the Global Business Events Sector from Martin Sirk

Martin Sirk is International Advisor for Iceberg partner GAH (Global Association Hubs). In a sharp reality check for the business events sector, he warns that successful reopening relies on a much wider containment of the pandemic than the industry on its own can ever achieve. The economy and health are not zero-sum trade-offs or parallel-track…

Read More

CES 2021 Goes Online: The End of the World That Once We Knew

The largest business-to-business, face-to-face exhibition in the US, CES 2021, has moved to being an online, all-digital event. In 2019 CES had 170,000 visitors, 6,000 media, plus 4,000 exhibiting businesses from every corner of the world. The early pivot sent shock waves across an industry already devastated by the pandemic. From UFI…

Read More

Birmingham ICC’s Tory Conference Hat-trick Reveals Legacy

The UK’s Conservative Party will be hosting its annual conference at Birmingham in 2022, 2024 and 2026. The event has alternated between ICC Birmingham and Manchester Central since 2008. Both used to be Labour heartlands, which shows the legacies that come from targeting a specific destination. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…

Read More

Not Another Industry Statement: The JMIC Global Manifesto

Months now into the COVID-19 pandemic we are awash in sector pronouncements and assertions, even if the route to recovery in this challenging situation remains rather unpredictable. But the recent global manifesto from the Joint Meetings Industry Council is a little different. So says JMIC’s Executive Director Rod Cameron…

Read More

Checking the Labels: The UK’s Coronavirus Event Safety Standards

In the UK many industry associations have produced their own COVID-19 safety guidelines. While a measure showing initiative and real thirst to restart, this has caused confusion among planners over which label to seek out. List compiled before the Government-approved All Secure Standard was launched. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

Read More

Ways to Decarbonise Conference Travel Beyond COVID-19

COVID-19 has forced a rethinking of travel. Many conferences have been cancelled. Some have gone virtual. This analysis looks at actions that might reduce conference travel emissions by up to 90 percent, including holding a conference biennially in accessible locations, plus having both regional hubs and more virtual events. From Nature…

Read More

Geneviève Leclerc: Business Events and a New Social Contract

During COVID-19 the meetings industry has pivoted to serve the community. Venues have become field hospitals, logistics networks have shipped personal protective equipment, and surplus food has also been donated. A new social contract is being written, explains Geneviève Leclerc, CEO of Iceberg partner #MEET4IMPACT. From European Cities Marketing…

Read More

Review of the JMIC Manifesto Webinar: Historic or Déjà Vu?

The Iceberg has just hosted a webinar built around the JMIC Manifesto for Economic Recovery Using Business Events. This review says the packaging may have been “inflated”, but that the content was “laser-focused”, and that the main speaker Prof. Greg Clark (left) was “supernaturally articulate”. How unified is the sector? From Association Meetings International…

Read More