In November the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) welcomed a record number of delegates to its 56th annual congress. Almost 1,300 members, including more than 40 association executives, travelled to Prague for four days of education, chapter meetings and networking. During the event, the inaugural winners of the “Incredible Impacts” grants supported by both…
Friends, family, and colleagues of the late Paul Flackett joined in celebration of the IMEX and business events industry icon at a memorial event generously hosted by London’s Queen Elizabeth II Centre. Comic, emotional, and musical farewells from all corners of the world were delivered in fond remembrance of “the boy from Birmingham”. These included…
The United Kingdom is a preferred host for international meetings, conferences and events because of its economic, academic and industry sector strengths. That applies equally to the major gateway cities and the many regional cities spread across every corner of the UK, each with extensive clusters of expertise in advanced and creative industries. This sector…
Two past Opinions (“Westminster Bubbles”) have reported the UK meetings industry’s bridge-building with government. Now Prime Minister Theresa May’s January reshuffle has moved tourism minister John Glen (pictured) over to another post. So the industry will therefore have to start the conversation all over again with his successor. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
The Iceberg’s very own James Latham presented a session at Convening Leaders 2018 in Nashville called “The Rise of Intellectual Capitalism: The Role of Meetings”. Destinations and conferences which align themselves to knowledge clusters like biotech, fintech or healthcare reap benefits on all sides, he said. Latham was also interviewed by Amanda Marijanovic. From PCMA Convene…
Hot air ballooning preceded powered flight by over a century. At a session on trends and innovation in event technology at the recent SITE + MPI Global Forum 2018 in Rome, it was not a high but low-tech solution that had participants puffing with excitement: inflatable room dividers that create temporary spaces. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
So what is the future of event technology? In the Future of Face2Face open space learning area at Nashville’s Music City Center during Convening Leaders 2018, fifteen participants gave their views on the way things are heading. A low-tech approach of having them fill out index cards was employed for the purpose. From PCMA Convene…
Meet LG robot Cloi, a media sensation after repeatedly failing to respond to instructions and merely blinking during its unveiling at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The failure is both a horror story of what can go wrong during a presentation, but also a reaffirmation of humanity. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
Convening Leaders 2018 in Nashville was a valedictory event for Deborah Sexton, who is stepping down as CEO of the Professional Convention Management Association after thirteen years. So here are Deborah’s revealing answers to thirteen questions, including her country music ambitions, ad libbing after Matthew McConaughey, and surviving a plane hijacking. From PCMA Convene…
The Eternal City recently became the Eventprofs City for a weekend as the SITE + MPI Global Forum 2018 hit Rome. The first time the two had joined forces, the benefits of co-location were immediately obvious both in the sheer range of speakers and sessions, and in the value consequently delivered. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
Convening Leaders 2018 saw a massive gathering in Nashville of industry expertise. Here are eighteen thought-provoking quotes from the show: from diversity to sustainability, and from entering the Chinese market to getting attendees out of their hotel rooms. “We don’t make changes because we see the light. It’s because we feel the heat.”. From PCMA Convene…
The first-ever Dubai Association Conference, held last month at the Dubai World Trade Centre, reinforced the role associations are playing in the emirate’s economic development and transition to a knowledge economy. The event brought together association executives, government representatives and university faculties, as well as professionals from around the world interested in forming associations. From Boardroom…
Made up of twelve convention bureaux partnering to help associations achieve success through their events, the BestCities Global Alliance has just run its second BestCities Global Forum in Tokyo. The conference’s four day programme included much talk of the beyond tourism benefits of meetings, including the “Incredible Impacts” grants BestCities has just co-presented. From Boardroom…
Artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, 3D printing, wearables, telemedicine: the convergence of healthcare and technology is reaching an inflection point at a time when other pressures are putting the squeeze on medical meetings. How can they stay relevant if the entire structure of healthcare is about to fundamentally change? From PCMA Convene…
Destination Bristol has relaunched its convention bureau, now promoting the city region for conferences, meetings and incentive travel as ‘Meet Bristol’. In 2017, the team managed enquiries about potential business worth more than £2.3 million and were responsible for confirming more than £830,000 of business related events that took place during the year. From Meetpie.com…
Vancouver will welcome 33 conventions and events in 2018, the highest number it has ever hosted in one year. They will bring more than 100,000 delegates into the Canadian city, compared to 63,000 last year. Vancouver’s meetings industry supports more than 6,000 jobs and brings more than $500 million of economic impact into the local economy. From Meetpie.com…
The reopening of major facilities in Sydney has made New South Wales once again most popular Australian destination for professional association conferences, according to Conference Monitor. 389 such events were held there in 2017, up 38 percent on 2016. 325 were held in Victoria and 302 in Queensland, the most popular in 2016. From CIM News Magazine…
The Sarawak Convention Bureau secured 89 business events in 2017 (60 bids won, 29 supported) to be held over the next four years. During 2017 the Malaysian state hosted 47 conventions, including the 13th World Islamic Economic Forum and the International Summit on Peace. Sarawak also won its second BrandLaureate trophy. From CIM News Magazine…
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