Last year, the IBTM World Trends report found itself looking at new frontiers. How had the meetings and events landscape changed in the wake of the pandemic, what behaviours had been adopted, how were other industries looking at this same landscape? Also, how was the global economy dictating the future welfare of our own market…
A group of academics from various disciplines will promote the capital city of New Zealand as a place to hold international conferences. Wellington has just launched its Advocate Network, a pool of local thought leaders and subject experts to help enhance the success of the city’s business events bidding. From Association Meetings International…
Australia is a hotbed of business event excellence, the country’s cities and states both competing and collaborating to win events for the destination. In this high-powered video double bill, The Iceberg hears once again from BESydney CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith, and also from Tourism Australia’s Robin Mack, about the role of meetings in diversifying destinations’ economies….
This report does its best to lean on both empirical evidence and highly credible opinion, that give a glimpse into both the immediate and long-term futures the industry faces. It looks at the past to predict the future, but also finds “grass root” trends that may grow to dominate how the sector goes about its…
During the recent IMEX America in Las Vegas, Iceberg partners ICCA and the BestCities Global Alliance collaboratively staged a deep dive workshop that explored “Legacy for Association Meetings”. With the use of templates taken from the toolkit of Copenhagen Legacy Lab, also an Iceberg partner, attendees worked to develop tangible solutions for sector challenges. From ICCA…
Kai Hattendorf is CEO of Iceberg partner UFI, global association of the exhibition industry. He has launched the UFI Global Policy Leadership Series, holding a series of high-level ministerial conversations to hear directly from government representatives about their economic plans and the role exhibitions play stimulating economies and societies. From UFI…
Delegates hoping to attend an association conference in Europe may be asked to produce a “COVID pass” as more governments impose restrictions on unvaccinated people meeting indoors. The rapid spread of the Delta variant has spooked leaders kickstarting their battered economies while protecting the gains made by the vaccines. From Association Meetings International…
Organisers of the 24th International AIDS Conference will create lasting legacies by helping on site and virtual delegates from poorer countries to attend the 2022 event. An “ambitious” scholarship programme will let more attendees take part either in Montreal or else online. The society will also provide internet data and hardware devices. Association Meetings International…
Confidence among exhibition organisers that profits will double this year has been revealed in the latest UFI Global Barometer survey of 457 companies. The exhibition organisers’ association and Iceberg partner reported said that though over half of members have had to reduce workforce, the crisis has reinforced faith in face-to-face events. From Meetings International…
To prevent catastrophic warming, humanity must get its act together. More and more industry sectors are committing to carbon reduction, but what about the agencies, PCOs and commercial event producers? Fiona Pelham, the CEO of Iceberg partner Positive Impact Events, feels a voice at the table is crucial. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
As well as assessing the impact of COVID-19, this report includes a global economic analysis for 2020, a deep dive into global mega-trends (including security, sustainability, wellness, diversity and inclusion), an exploration of the virtual experience economy, an individual industry analysis, an examination of meetings and events performance by sector, and a regional analysis. IBTM…
Iceberg partner ICCA’s multi-hub, hybrid 59th Congress has concluded with a message of support delivered by Xavier Bettel, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg. Other highlights included the annual Copenhagen Lecture, and the creation of The Kaohsiung Protocol, a research crowdsourced framework for recovery. From Conference News…
Like many other organisations, the American Psychological Association quickly switched its in-person 2020 annual convention to an all-virtual event because of COVID-19. Even though the pivot happened in just three months, it was decided from the start to make the August event better than it could possibly have been on site. From PCMA…
Singapore Tourism Board is piloting two hybrid events, which will allow 50 delegates to attend in person, to stress-test its new risk management framework before gradually scaling up to larger meetings. Both events will have up to 50 attendees on site and about 1,000 online. From Association Meetings International…
When ASN (the American Society for Nutrition) decided to switch its live event set for late May in Seattle to all-virtual just sixty days before the meeting, the organising team of ten didn’t know what to expect from the pivot. Nutrition 2020 typically draws 3,500 delegates, but about 30,000 attended the virtual version. From PCMA…
Since 2018 GainingEdge has led two major projects for MeetDenmark on meeting legacies. The purpose has been to identify how Danish destinations can create significant added value for visiting congresses while also increasing the value for Danish society beyond the traditional economic benefits. Now MeetDenmark has released the second study completed in 2020 which explores the processes, mechanisms and…
A step-by-step guide to creating meetings with long-term societal benefits has just been published by MeetDenmark, an association of the country’s convention bureaux. The study Meeting Legacies: Innovating for Enhanced Value Creation was co-authored by MeetDenmark and consultancy and Iceberg partner Gaining Edge. From Association Meetings International…
The Joint Meetings Industry Council, which presents The Iceberg, has released a manifesto that sets out arguments as to why business events can and should be utilised to drive economic recovery and renewal in the post-COVID-19 era. The document was assembled with the advice and input of a broad range of industry leaders. This was…
The coronavirus crisis has led to unprecedented interest in virtual events. For many organisers, this meant seriously looking into their possibilities, in some cases for the first time. But directly transposing the aims of a live event can mean missing the potential benefits of producing relevant and bespoke video content. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The German government has run a hackathon to brainstorm solutions to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. 42,869 took part online in #WirVsVirus (“us versus the virus”). The result was more than 800 ideas on topics like shopping, childcare and symptom monitoring. Some of them have now been selected for funding. From Euractiv…
There has never been a more vital time for the services and value that associations provide, at precisely the moment traditional business models are falling apart. With a strong focus on societal mission, and by making urgent challenges the top priority, associations now have a unique opportunity to make difference. From Martin Sirk via Boardroom…
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