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How hard has the art of putting together panels become in an age more finely attuned to gender inequality? In the run up to International Women’s Day, a conference came under fire for being too sure it was booking panels, not manels. It invited only women scientists to speak. From PCMA…
The TED Radio Hour just interviewed Yassmin Abdel-Magied, an Australian author, TV personality, and founder of Youth Without Borders. In April 2018 Abdel-Magied traveled to the US to speak at an event, but was denied entry because her country of birth, Sudan, was on President Trump’s original travel ban. From PCMA…
Ambassadors help destinations secure international association meetings. So Edinburgh’s meetings industry has an anxious wait ahead of a council vote on budget cuts that could virtually wipe out the city’s marketing and lead to the closure of Convention Edinburgh and its ambassador scheme. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
While the Edinburgh Convention Bureau’s future funding lies under threat, so the city has also voiced the idea of a £2 per person nightly “room tax”. Some see this as a welcome source of new revenue, but will any get back to marketing, and what about competitiveness? From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The branded plane that flew the foolhardy to the Fyre Festival in 2017 was just one footnote in the event disaster to end them all. After Fyre’s calamitous collapse, and the organiser’s imprisonment for fraud and $26 million fine, two new TV documentaries dissect every event planner’s worst nightmare. Photo: John Klos. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…
More than 90 percent of US eaten seafood is imported, and about 40 percent of 25,000 attendees at Seafood Expo North America also attend from abroad. Since tariffs imposed on goods imported from China and other countries have taken effect, some regular exhibitors have cut back on space they’re purchasing for March 2019. From PCMA…
Events and meetings transform destinations for the better. The tireless Pádraic Gilligan, Chief Marketing Officer of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence, offers a thought-provoking report from the recent SITE Executive Summit in Rwanda. The country saw a horrific genocide in 1994, and yet today is “incentive-ready”. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
Now companies have to respond almost immediately to bad publicity, overreaction is the danger. When the positive benefits of an activity aren’t understood, the damage can be even greater. Our incentive specialist looks at headlines the sector has weathered and what they say about the real value of incentive travel. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
Where meetings and events choose to go, and how they approach their content, are affected by many factors, not least the influence of political disruptors like Brexit or the 2016 US presidential election. So says Rod Cameron, Executive Director of the Joint Meetings Industry Council, which presents The Iceberg. From CIM News Magazine…
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. When the US Supreme Court recently upheld Trump Travel Ban III, Vancouver quickly tweeted out a welcome mat. But here’s a tale of two cities, New York and San Francisco, that insist the US is still open for business. From PCMA Convene…
The past month has revealed the turmoil the United Kingdom is in over the manner of its departure from the European Union. But might the UK exhibition sector provide some palliative relief from Brexit uncertainties? The sector’s global association takes a look at VisitBritain, along with the recent Farnborough International Airshow, for answers. From UFI…
How not to punch your own event in the face #472. The comics community has hit back at New York Comic Con and its organiser ReedPOP after noted professionals found out that their pro badge applications had been rejected. The mess was caused by a simple Excel spreadsheet sorting glitch. From The Beat…
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo may have met North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, but we now know that President Trump’s face-to-face with the Supreme Leader on June 12th won’t take place. Before it was officially cancelled, one Iceberg partner pondered the pressures for organisers of such meetings. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
Despite being a coastal city, Cape Town is fighting the worst drought in its history and has come close to actually running out of water. But even before the problem turned critical, water-related conferences were identifying opportunities for creating legacies in the destination. “Never waste a good crisis” has become the apt motto. From Boardroom…
In 2016 Turkey’s largest city Istanbul claimed eighth spot in ICCA’s much-trumpeted city rankings. Today it is in 133rd place. Over the past 24 months the city has suffered deadly terrorist attacks, a failed coup, and a series of purges against its citizens, including teachers, journalists and lawyers. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
Despite a recent report that men give more than twice as many talks than women at scientific conferences, there are signs that female-to-male ratios are improving at some events. One of the best strategies for tackling the gender agenda is to include women as part of the team that selects speakers. From PCMA Convene…
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