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Ten Organisers Discuss Challenges of 2020, Outlook for 2021

Ten well-known UK exhibition organisers have been describing their thought processes and plans for 2021. Several talked about how their teams had risen to the multiple challenges of keeping the lights on and their businesses ticking over. There was also real consensus of opinion about key learnings and outlook going forward. From Exhibition News…

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AMI Podcast: Positive Impact’s Fiona Pelham Talks Carbon Targets

Fiona Pelham has been leading the charge of more sustainable business events for over fifteen years. In this episode of the Deep Dive podcast, the CEO of Iceberg partner Positive Impact Events talks with AMI Editor James Lancaster about changing narratives across that time, about leadership and also about carbon targets. From Association Meetings International…

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M&IT Podcast: Creating IBTM World Virtual with David Thompson

David Thompson, the Event Director of Iceberg partner IBTM World, has been talking to M&IT Acting Editor Paul Harvey. The discussed IBTM World Virtual and the challenge of turning a live physical show into an online-only event, plus Thompson’s outlook for planners in the coming year. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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Elizabeth Rich: Reflect, Reset and Redefine to Keep Communicating

In 2000 and 2006 business events legend and friend of the Iceberg Elizabeth Rich wrote provocative articles about the sector’s struggle with identity. After years at the helm of the Meetings Industry Association of Australia and the Business Events Council of Australia, she remains a keen observer in challenging times. From Meetings International…

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Five Trends for Industry Recovery: UFI’s Team Looks to 2021

We are in unchartered territory with a global pandemic disrupting lives and livelihoods. But with improved knowledge about the virus, more efficient testing and now with mass vaccinations, the tide is turning. Kai Hattendorf, Managing Director and CEO of Iceberg partner UFI, offers with his team five trends to drive industry development. From UFI…

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Taubie Motlhabane, CTICC CEO, Considers Career, COVID and CSR

The CEO of CTICC (the Cape Town International Convention Centre), Taubie Motlhabane, had been in postition for about three months when coronavirus took hold. She has been talking about her earlier career journey, about CTICC’s role as the Hospital of Hope, and about working with soup kitchen Ladles of Love. From Exhibition World…

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Five CVBs Discuss the Intellectual Capital Destination Role

The pandemic has questioned the role of the meetings industry and the function destinations now play. Five European convention bureaux, part of an informal alliance, share perspectives on how emerging as intellectual capitals may be key to staying relevant beyond the crisis: Glasgow, Copenhagen, Vienna, Brussels and Barcelona. From Boardroom…

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How Meeting Venues Are Adapting to the Demand for Hybrid

When looking for hybrid meeting sites, over a third of respondents to the Convene Recovery Dashboard surveys conducted in late summer and autumn were seeking venues with broadcasting facilities. As a result, convention centres around the world have worked quickly to meet the demand, with facilities designed as spaces to reflect the destination. From PCMA…

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Julian Agostini: Let the Events Sector Manage COVID-19 Vaccinations

During the pandemic meeting venues have already been used as field hospitals. Why shouldn’t the sector also play a role in rolling out of the coronavirus vaccine? It boasts exactly the right set of skills to help deliver such logistics at scale. So argues Julian Agostini, Managing Director at Iceberg partner Mash Media. From Exhibition World…

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UFI’s Global Congress Hears Keynote Speaker Gloria Guevara Manzo

A live keynote was given at the 87th Global Congress of Iceberg partner UFI by the President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council Gloria Guevara Manzo. Her address presented WTCC research, outlined WTCC efforts to jumpstart recovery, and offered key learnings from past crises that relate to the current pandemic. From UFI…

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The Role Played by One Virtual Meeting in the Race for the Vaccine

Coronavirus vaccinations are already happening, the success of their rapid development owed to many factors. One is the rise of virtual meetings which let delegates around the world work collaboratively on solutions. Organiser Keystone Symposia moved “Vaccinology in the Age of Pandemics: Strategies Against COVID-19 & Other Global Threats” online this June. From PCMA…

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Destination Three Rs: Research, Relevance, Relationships

The “new normal” notwithstanding, the preference across the industry for holding in-person meetings is clear. So what do both venues and destination marketing organisations need to focus on to maximise their attendance in-person now as hybrid meetings proliferate? Sarah Fleming, Managing Director of Sarah Fleming Associates, has some ideas on the subject. From Sarah Fleming…

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PlanetIMEX Session: When We Meet Again (Maritz Global Events)

The pause of face-to-face events has left a void of connection not fully filled by the switch to digital. Designers have to help guests feel more connected as they meet again. Iceberg partner Maritz Global Events’ Chief Behavioural Officer Charlotte Blank and Enterprise VP for Design Studio Greg Bogue explain. From Maritz Global Events…

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DMOs: Down But Not Out, Rebuilding for a Different Future

2020 has been crushing for the DMO (destination management organisations). Destinations in the US have endured wiped-out funds as a result of zero hotel occupancy, en-masse event cancellations, and double-digit layoffs, not to mention further challenges with social unrest and also, for some, natural disasters. 2020 has brought the DMO to the brink. From PCMA…

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