AMI’s James Lancaster argues that when so much of our professional life has been compressed into screens, feeds and notifications, conferences seem a little quaint – people travelling for hours to sit beside colleagues, listen to someone imparting information and then chat about it over a coffee. But this quaintness increasingly looks like the point.
In the latest Northstar/Cvent Meetings Industry PULSE Survey, conducted in partnership with Phocuswright, the level of planner optimism largely continues from the previous cycle, the percentage of planners booking and actively sourcing new events is up year-over-year, whiles there is also evidence of geopolitical and economic uncertainty taking a toll.
The International Association for Relationship Research Conference turned research into conversation through a community event at Social Bite. More than 660 delegates gathered in Glasgow for the International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) Conference 2026, but some of the conference’s most meaningful conversations took place away from the main programme.
Learn how Discover Saskatoon won the International Food and Agriculture Business Management Association (IFAMA) World Forum, using Destination Canada’s International Convention Attraction Fund. Invaluable lessons in how to incorporate “impact” and build partnerships at the earliest bidding stage. By Anna Look, Look Ahead Consulting…
Meeting design guru Adrian Segar argues the meetings industry has spent decades measuring success as a matter of volume: more attendees, more exhibitors, more sponsors, more square footage. But bigger events don’t necessarily create greater value for the people who attend. Segar puts forward his predictions for the rise of delegate-centred success metrics.
ECA, the public policy voice of the US business events industry, has launched the ECA Ambassadors Circle, designed to recognise, empower and engage the industry’s most committed advocates. The programme will provide a select group of industry leaders with specialised year-round programming, advanced advocacy training and new opportunities to help amplify the industry’s voice.
A year after global sexual health specialists gathered at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, the STI & HIV 2025 World Congress continues to bear fruit. A financial surplus of C$55,151.77 has been given to six Montréal community organisations working in sexual health, a wonderful example of the lasting legacy international conferences can leave.
Global business travel spending is projected to reach $1.71 trillion in 2026, while business trip volume is expected to total 1.84 billion trips, according to GBTA’s Business Travel Index Annual Global Report and Forecast. The figures point to another year of expansion for the sector, although spending continues to grow significantly faster than trip volume.
The Mozambican government has approved a strategy to develop business tourism in the country through to 2030. The strategy projects annual revenues of US$106 million alongside increased inward investment and economic capacity building, through the hosting of 38 international conferences, congresses, and other professional events.
EIC, in partnership with Oxford Economics, has released the full 2026 Global Economic Significance of Business Events Study, providing a comprehensive examination of the scale and broader value of the global business events sector. They found business events generated US$3.1 trillion in total business sales. Download the full report via the link in this article.
Singapore’s MICE industry is moving into a new phase of sustainable growth, with the launch of MICE Sustainability Roadmap 2.0, placing social and economic sustainability alongside environmental considerations. Announced at Singapore MICE Forum 2026 by guest-of-honour Gan Siow Huang, the refreshed roadmap was developed by the Singapore Tourism Board and SACEOS.
Kai Hattendorf conducts a deep dive into Informa’s recent state-of-business report for the first half of 2026, drawing our attention to the impact of geopolitics on global trade show sector performance, and the company’s strategic and tactical decisions on issues such as event postponement vs cancellation, regional prioritisation and differentiation, and risk management.
Companies are placing conference attendance under a microscope, sending fewer employees than in previous years — or choosing not to send anyone at all. 56% of respondents to GBTA’s recent survey said their organisation has changed its meetings or events strategy in the past three months, with 24% saying they are reducing employee event attendance.
Across Europe, conferences and exhibitions help to shape cities, through visitor spend and supporting industrial strategies and economic development. Europe is experiencing a summer of ferocious heat, which scientists predict will become the ‘new normal’. AMI’s writers explore how the events industry is coping, responding, and thinking about the future.
A new advocacy movement, The Athens Promise, has launched this July to support existing efforts and further unite the meetings and events industry behind one clear message: the work of business events matters, and the world needs to understand why. The initiative is led by the IAPCO, in partnership with AIPC AMC Institute and PCMA.
The process of designing and executing a seamless event is an art, but tracking and analysing all the metrics is definitely a science. The formula for success can vary from group to group, but there are some universal metrics that most planners should focus on — ones that go beyond total attendance and satisfaction scores.
In June 2026, Vienna hosted the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. The Festival of Robots, taking place ahead of the congress, and sustainability focus, formed a core pillar of the impact strategy by bridging science with the local community, while the Community Building Day highlighted DEI in science, encouraging inclusive environments in STEM.
Skift analyses new research from Freeman that confirms what meeting planners have suspected for years: the agenda they spend months building isn’t where attendees are finding the most value. Attendees say they would ideally spend 54% of their learning time in unstructured formats rather than formal sessions. At trade shows, that figure rises to 64%.
The Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) has released the third edition of its Global Manifesto, giving the business-events industry updated data and case studies to help make its case to governments, destinations, and public officials. The updated manifesto uses data from the Events Industry Council’s (EIC) 2026 Global Economic Significance Study.
Why does The Iceberg consider the just-released IMEX White Paper, “Place Leadership and the Business Events Sector”, to be so important? In almost four decades of monitoring and supporting this sector, The Iceberg Curator, Martin Sirk, has reviewed hundreds of research reports, policy documents, and thought-leadership papers, yet he notes that “few match this paper’s…
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