The International Congress and Convention Association’s board of directors has selected Senthil Gopinath to serve as its new CEO. Gopinath’s career in the meetings travel industry spans more than twenty years, with eighteen of them spent working within ICCA member organisations. He joined the ICCA team in 2016. From Meetings International…
Seven researchers from Brisbane will share in AUS$30,000 funding from the Lord Mayor’s office to help lure significant international conferences to the city for the first time. The Convention Trailblazer Grant funds early career professionals to attend an international conference in their field, then help attract that meeting to Brisbane. From Association Meetings International…
The 17th Aesthetic & Anti-Ageing Medicine World Congress has taken place at Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Programmed by the World Society of Interdisciplinary Anti-Ageing Medicine, every year the event attracts over 10,000 participants from more than 120 countries. Over 300 leading international companies are showcased on the five-floor exhibition area. Photo: Evelyscher. From Boardroom…
Lyon has become the latest city to join Iceberg partner the Global Destination Sustainability Index, a ranking of meetings destinations’ environmental credentials. Only Lyon, the city’s convention bureau, is the 48th destination to sign up to the index, which benchmarks them on how well they are meeting UN Sustainable Development Goals. From Association Meetings International…
The International Convention Centre Belfast is hosting the Microbiology Society Annual Conference. The largest annual gathering of sector professionals in the UK and Ireland, more than 1,600 delegates from all over the world will visit Belfast over four days attending more than 30 sessions during a comprehensive scientific programme. From Boardroom…
The Kuala Lumpur-based Malaysia International Trade & Exhibition Centre is increasing its number of meeting rooms. Two new spaces will open in September, the largest for up to 1,200 attendees. MITEC is the third largest venue in Southeast Asia and capable of hosting “mega-exhibitions” for over 100,000 and conventions of 20,000. From Association Meetings International…
Karen Bolinger, tireless CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau, has announced her departure after more than seven-and-a-half years at the helm. She steps down in what is expected to be another record year for the bureau in terms of economic contribution, adding around AU$500 million to the region’s coffers. From Association Meetings International…
The largest event management and exhibition organising company in Hungary, Hungexpo, has announced record turnover for 2018. Hungexpo had earned more than £21 million by the end of the year, up almost 30 percent on 2017. Major events in 2018 included the Congress of the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Fourteen Club Melbourne Ambassadors have been awarded at the annual Club awards ceremony, held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, for securing nine international conferences in 2018. The nine events are expected to generate around AU$95 million in economic impact for the state of Victoria and deliver 63,700 delegate days. From Melbourne Convention Bureau…
(ISC)2, a non-profit association of cybersecurity professionals, is about to hold its Secure Summit EMEA at the World Forum in The Hague. The two-day event will welcome over 400 visitors, the best minds in the sector from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Highlights will include a GDPR data breach simulation workshop. From Boardroom…
The Seoul Convention Bureau has rolled out its 2019 PLUS SEOUL initiative to boost business events. As well as expanded core benefits of up to KRW 250,000,000 (previously KRW 150,000,000) for international conferences, PLUS SEOUL will cover developing event apps and VR, and the bureau has also designed new customised experiences for meetings. From Boardroom…
Expoforum, the new congress and exhibition centre in St Petersburg, is trying to raise its profile as a place to host major international association congresses. As well as entering into media partnerships, attending trade shows and focussing on its ICCA membership, the venue has also engaged business development consultants. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
You just can’t keep a good man down! Christian Mutschlechner, former Director of the Vienna Convention Bureau, will enjoy a “soft” retirement after taking an unsalaried position on the board of Congrex Switzerland. Here he answers questions about his new position, his retirement and his other goals. From Association Meetings International…
The looming threat of climate change poses huge questions for the international meetings industry, particularly for high profile global events under intense media scrutiny like COP24, the World Economic Forum and the UN Climate Change Conference. But does the sector itself have the answers, and how is it approaching the problem? From Association Meetings International…
Many healthcare and STEM meeting participants can justify attendance because an abstract of theirs has been accepted. But rather than holding conferences of speakers speaking to speakers, perhaps there is space for a “flipped” model, where the event environment is a place for peer review and improvement of works in progress. From PCMA…
The financial health of a medical association convention can depend on whether its exhibition floor is or isn’t sold out. Attending doctors though aren’t usually buying drugs directly but prescribing them. So measuring the return on investment of exhibiting at medical meetings has become a science in its own right. From PCMA…
From mergers and acquisitions in the hotel sector, not to mention its commission cuts, to concerns about security, both of person and of data, including GDPR compliance, here’s a look at key pointers found in the Incentive Research Foundation’s 2019 Trends Study that are expected to affect the buoyant incentive travel industry. From PCMA…
Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director of The Middle East, Arabian Travel Market and IBTM Arabia, reveals seven destinations set to become prominent in the meetings and events industry. Her list comprises the United Arab Emirates and Gulf Cooperation Council states, other neighbours Georgia and Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Rwanda. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Iceberg is publishing a series of interviews about the globalisation of large associations. These are jointly produced by partners Boardroom and the Global Association Hubs Partnership. Matthew D’Uva, CEO of the Washington DC-headquartered International Association for the Study of Pain, describes reaching 100 chapters around the world. From Global Association Hubs Partnership…
The launch of business events by industry can make a significant contribution to the growth strategies of cities and states. In 2015 Aloysius Arlando, Chief Executive of SingEx Holdings, co-created the Singapore Fintech Festival as Asia’s hub for the intersection of its finance and tech sectors. The legacies of this event launch with partners including…
Once famous for ship and train making, Scotland is now building rockets and satellites. Sutherland, the first spaceport in mainland Europe, will soon see its first launches. VisitScotland recently held INNOVATESPACE at the University of St Andrews, right after Data Space 2019 was held at the Technology & Innovation Centre in Glasgow. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
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