A record-setting group of 170 business and professional events industry leaders and advocates from 30 states met with more than 130 elected officials on Capitol Hill today as part of the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance’s (ECA) annual Legislative Action Day. “What happens in Washington, DC is critical to the competitiveness of our industry going forward,”…
From Thoughts & Observations on Business Events with Kai Hattendorf: We had a packed house for this session at IMEX last week (with Reggie Aggarwal, Carina Bauer, Karen Bolinger, a very active audience, and me), with participants partly listening from the outside through headphones. So I thought it made sense to do a bigger recap…
Germany reports attendance figures back up to pre-pandemic levels in 2024. This is a useful report for those interested in communicating the enormous scale of the meetings sector in individual countries. 377 million attendees participated in approximately 2 million events in a single year! From Skift Meetings…
M&C Asia Connections is an exclusive tabletop tradeshow that unites Asia’s top suppliers and global buyers in the MICE industry. This premier event offers a compelling agenda tailored for forward-thinking MICE professionals to forge impactful connections through pre-scheduled 1-to-1 business appointments and enriching networking sessions. Leveraging Northstar’s comprehensive global MICE database and esteemed brands, M&C…
From IAPCO: The results of the Global Socio-Political Impact Survey of 2025 which was issued by the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO), in collaboration with the National PCO Association Task Force members and global Strategic Partners, show two-thirds of respondents (59.53%) reported that global conflicts have impacted their ability to plan or host…
IAPCO is the global community for accredited PCOs. At AIME in Melbourne this year, the organisation’s immediate past president and CEO of ICMS Pty Ltd, Sarah Markey-Hamm, shares the importance of curiosity in achieving the most potent outcomes – and storytelling – being sought from the organisation’s member-facilitated events. Markey-Hamm and the organisation’s PR lead,…
ECA and its public policy counsel, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP, have prepared the following detailed analysis of recent tariff developments and what they mean for the business and professional events industry. Please bookmark this page for future updates as circumstances warrant. On April 17, the Office of the United States Trade Representative took action…
From Skift Meetings: As U.S.-Canada tariffs take hold and cross-border meeting attendance dips, one veteran planner is helping associations rethink US-Canada event strategies. Some associations are moving events from the US to Canada, where favorable exchange rates, easier visa processes, and lower costs make it an appealing alternative. As the US dollar weakens under new…
From AMI: The Australian Business Events Association (ABEA) and the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) have announced a new three-year Strategic Partnership, with joint research and white paper development at the heart of their collaboration. Under the agreement, both associations will co-author a white paper and share relevant industry research and studies with…
From IAPCO: Conferences and meetings demonstrate resilience and growth in uncertain times IAPCO celebrates Global Meetings Industry Day 3 April 2025. The membership of the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) collectively delivered 19,469 events across the globe in 2024 contributing an economic impact of over €17.8 billion. This represents a €3.54 billion increase…
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