Sector: Meetings
2018 UK Meeting Spend Rose, Says Report
Average spend per meeting in the UK increased in 2018, while lead and conversion times came down year on year, according to the latest HBAA Meetings Barometer. The report, developed by HBAA with The MeetingsBenchmark, also reveals a wide range in the average day delegate rate across the country. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Dundee and Angus Events Bring in £71m
A 2018 economic impact report published by the Dundee & Angus Convention Bureau shows that £71 million was generated from the thriving business events sector in the Scottish region last year. The figure represents a four percent increase on 2017. The area attracted 257,000 conference and event delegates in 2018. From Association Meetings International…
Belfast Launches Events Marketing Campaign
Belfast’s official tourism marketing agency, Visit Belfast, has launched a new marketing campaign designed to rapidly accelerate the volume of inbound business conferences and events taking place in the city. The digital-led campaign is the city’s largest-ever dedicated business tourism marketing initiative. From Association Meetings International…
Meetings Africa 2019 Breaking Records
The continent’s premier trade show for the event industry Meetings Africa opened with South Africa’s Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom (pictured right) claiming broken records. He said the 14th edition of the show at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg had in fact attracted 338 exhibitors, a rise of ten percent over 2018. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Revamped AIME 2019 Held in Melbourne
The revamped 2019 Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) has taken place in Melbourne. In addition to plenary sessions, a mini hackathon and a series of break-out sessions, industry chiefs also attended an invitation-only Leaders Forum, which examined emerging technology and consumer trends in the Asia-Pacific region. From PCMA…
Messe Frankfurt Power Goes Renewable
Messe Frankfurt, which claims to be the “world’s largest” event organiser and exhibition ground owner, will source all of its electricity from a renewable energy provider in 2020. This includes power for the stands and halls at the company’s various Frankfurt venues. The exhibition grounds already have three photovoltaic systems. From Association Meetings International…
Heike Mahmoud
Chief Operating Officer, Estrel Berlin
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Heike Mahmoud has been Chief Operating Officer (COO) and authorized signatory at Estrel Berlin, Europe’s largest hotel, congress and entertainment complex with over 1,000 hotel rooms and 30,000 sqm of event space, since August 2024. She is responsible for the operational business of Estrel Berlin and the marketing of the new Estrel Tower, the first…
Manchester Central Exhibition Revenue Up
Manchester Central saw 31 percent growth in exhibition revenue during 2018, thanks to a rise in the total number of shows hosted (37) and a repeat rate of 86 percent from 2017. High-profile new events included The Northern Business Exhibition. Repeat clients included IP EXPO. 2018 also saw investment in new facilities. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Aileen Crawford
Head of Tourism and Conventions, Glasgow Convention Bureau
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Aileen has worked in the meetings industry for over 25 years and is currently the Head of Tourism and Conventions at Glasgow Convention Bureau, Glasgow Life. Aileen has served on the board of ICCA as Destination Co-Chair. The Convention Bureau focus on attracting and supporting association conferences to meet in Glasgow. The Bureau offer a…
The Road Ahead of Giving Back: Meetings CSR & Sustainability
The Annual Meetings Market Survey just added two new questions about whether or not corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability are usually part of event planning. More than half of respondents did not make CSR part of their event, and the environment was top of mind (in RFPs) for only eleven percent. From PCMA…
US Visa Entry in the Trump Era: A Growing Challenge for Events
The TED Radio Hour just interviewed Yassmin Abdel-Magied, an Australian author, TV personality, and founder of Youth Without Borders. In April 2018 Abdel-Magied traveled to the US to speak at an event, but was denied entry because her country of birth, Sudan, was on President Trump’s original travel ban. From PCMA…
AIME 2019: Voices from Knowledge Exchange and Elsewhere
The Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) 2019 has just been held in Melbourne. Here are some memorable statements heard during the Knowledge Exchange and elsewhere from sundry CEOs (of a convention bureau, an industry association, and a venue), as well as a strategist, an inventor, a politician, and a poet. From PCMA…
Edinburgh’s Room Tax: Breach in the Dyke or Bad Idea?
While the Edinburgh Convention Bureau’s future funding lies under threat, so the city has also voiced the idea of a £2 per person nightly “room tax”. Some see this as a welcome source of new revenue, but will any get back to marketing, and what about competitiveness? From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Associations Growing Global VI: ISO Engages Asia from Singapore
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. Nicolas Fleury, Deputy Secretary-General of the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardisation, describes ISO’s opening up of a regional office in Singapore. From Global Association Hubs Partnership…
Jane Cunningham
Managing Director, Cunningham Consulting AB
Jane loves life in the Nordics and the spirit of Scotland. Her expertise is based on 20 years of experience across the global meetings industry. Over this time she has been fortunate to have gained wonderful experience and friends from working for some great hotels, a convention centre, a destination marketing organisation, a PCO, and…
Lesley Williams
Consultant, GainingEdge
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Lesley joined BestCities in 2017 as Market Development Director, and was Managing Director from January 2020 to July 2023, following the decision of BestCities to award extending the management contract to GainingEdge. Lesley is a strong supporter and advocate of the beyond tourism impacts of meetings. In 2017 BestCities formed a collaboration with ICCA to…
Paul Vallee
Executive Consultant, GainingEdge
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Paul is Executive Consultant with GainingEdge, an international leader in meetings, conventions and business events consulting and management. Paul has provided advice on assignments in Canada, the United States, Denmark, Brazil, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Aruba, Panama, and Thailand, and has been an invited speaker in Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Through GainingEdge, Paul…
Natasha Richards
Director of Impact & Industry Relations, IMEX Group
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As Director of Impact & Industry Relations, Natasha leads a dedicated business unit overseeing our industry partnerships, advocacy and advancement and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy. This includes initiatives and charitable endeavours that the IMEX Group either drives or supports. Recognising the collective impact IMEX makes and that lies at the very heart of…
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