An estimated £20 billion of direct expenditure was generated by event delegates across UK venues and wider in 2018, according to the latest UK Conference and Meeting Survey. The figure is up from £18.1 billion in 2017. The overall number of events held in 2018 was the highest in recent years. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Sheffield has welcomed over 200 international delegates to the first ever International Child and Adolescent Knee Congress. The two-day meeting was organised by local ambassadors and orthopaedic surgeons Nick Nicolaou and Fazal Ali. Delivering about £250,000 in economic impact to the city, the event is set to remain in Sheffield long-term. From Association Meetings International…
Food waste is a major concern for more than six of every ten meeting planners, according to the IACC annual Meeting Room of the Future report 2019. The survey also shows that 44 percent believe ethical operations and sustainable practice will be crucial for venues by 2024. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Hague is using its role as host of the 2019 European Geothermal Congress to encourage further geothermal deployment across the continent. The destination aims to be carbon-neutral by 2030, and has at least four geothermal heating plants planned. EGC 2019 just took place at the World Forum. From Association Meetings International…
Professor Eileen Murphy, head of Archaeology and Palaeoecology at Queen’s University Belfast, helped secure the European Association of Archaeology’s annual conference for the city in 2022. A Northern Ireland Ambassador, Murphy worked with the convention bureau at Visit Belfast in bidding for the meeting, expected to generate £3.8 million for city coffers. From Association Meetings International…
The Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company has secured a VAT waiver for international organisations that hold events at its UAE venues. The exemption covers exhibitions and conferences not exceeding seven days in length whose owners don’t have a permanent base in the UAE. ADNEC says the move will enhance competitiveness. Photo: Aravind Sivaraj. From Association Meetings International…
Any manifestation of political instability can have a devastating effect on a destination’s perceived attractiveness for staging major events. Stuart Bailey, the CEO of a Hong Kong-based exhibition and conference organiser, believes that international impressions of the special administrative region’s recent protests are overblown, and should not deter either business or leisure visitors. From UFI…
The World Tunnel Congress 2019 was recently held in Naples, Italy. Over 2,700 attendees from more than 70 countries, an 80 percent rise in delegates, gathered at the Mostra D’Oltremare Congress Center. Trips included ancient and Renaissance archaeological sites, and legacy projects donated excess food and helped build community housing. From Boardroom…
Food waste is a universal problem, a lesson in Moroccan manners clearly shows. In the latest Meeting Room of the Future report from IACC, 62 percent of planners consider how a venue manages its waste before booking. 54 percent want to know if it buys from sustainable sources. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
You don’t have to be a doctor to change people’s lives! On June 5th, Global Exhibitions Day brought the industry together like never before. GED 2019 also saw the sector trying to quantify the huge transformative power of exhibitions as a medium, for entrepreneurs, businesses of all sizes, and destinations. From UFI…
Dr Lance O’Sullivan certainly knows the power of conferences. Aged 17, the twice-expelled disruptive child from a deprived background was taken to a Māori medicine meeting by his aunt. A smart and charismatic doctor speaking there captured the teenager’s attention and started his career path as healthcare innovator. From Association Meetings International…
On the occasion of 2019’s Global Exhibitions Day (GED), UFI, the industry’s global association, is launching a new report and online database. These will track initiatives and projects in the global exhibitions business shaped around the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. This resource, a first of its kind, aims to showcase work done…
Unlike anything humanity has experienced before, the current scale, scope and complexity of change is shaking foundations society has accepted as the norm. Five converging megaforces present destinations with both tremendous opportunities and challenges: climate breakdown, ecocide, demographic shift, social change and digitalisation. The meetings and events industry supports 26 million jobs, $1.5 trillion in global…
At the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence’s Global Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, during January 2019, The Bangkok Manifesto was created following a series of workshops with SITE’s International Board of Directors, Trustees of the SITE Foundation and a cohort of global experts in the field of incentive travel. The final ten statements of the document…
A new era of sustainability is rising and set to shape the future of the events industry, according to a new white paper just out from the Global Destination Sustainability Index, an Iceberg partner. The report details case studies, data analysis and actions taken by 47 destination management organisations and municipalities. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Record numbers of exhibition professionals around the world celebrated June 5, the fourth Global Exhibitions Day, which highlights how the industry generates $325 billion in total output globally and contributes $198 billion to GDP worldwide. An estimated 90 countries took part, according to preliminary data from Iceberg partner UFI, the sector’s global association. From PCMA…
Delegates at the Africa Associations Congress in Pretoria this August will be given insider tips on how to deliver a successful international conference. Last year more than 140 delegates from African associations, as well as international delegates from Europe and USA, attended the event’s first ever running in the same city. From Association Meetings International…
The Palais des congrès de Montréal has put together a Sustainability Innovation Committee made up of experts from institutions including ten Quebec universities. The group’s purpose will be to facilitate sharing academic research in the field, and to identify research partnership opportunities between the venue and sustainability organisations. From Boardroom…
ICC Wales has demonstrated a strong commitment to attracting major international association meetings by launching a drive at Swansea University recruiting for its Ambassador Wales Programme. The scheme aims to establish a network of patriotic professionals who will be championing the country as a conference and event destination. From Association Meetings International…
Professionals from right across the business events industry have been honoured in Frankfurt at the IMEX Gala Dinner. The 2019 JMIC Unity Award went to Joachim König, Director of Hannover Congress Centrum. Emile Coetzee from North-West University in South Africa won the MPI Foundation / Maritz Global Events Student Scholarship Award. From the Event…
The Board of Directors of Iceberg partner UFI, global association of the exhibition industry, has elected Anbu Varathan (left) President for 2020 – 2021. He is the first person from India to hold the role. The decision was made at a Board meeting that began the UFI European Conference in Birmingham, United Kingdom. From the Event…
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