The Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company has secured a VAT waiver for international organisations that hold events at its UAE venues. The exemption covers exhibitions and conferences not exceeding seven days in length whose owners don’t have a permanent base in the UAE. ADNEC says the move will enhance competitiveness. Photo: Aravind Sivaraj. From Association Meetings International…
Paris, which recently topped ICCA’s City Rankings for international association meetings, will host the European Society for Medical Oncology’s annual congress in 2021. ESMO is holding its first flagship meeting in the city at the Paris Convention Centre and Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. Almost 30,000 cancer specialists are expected. From Association Meetings International…
The World Tunnel Congress 2019 was recently held in Naples, Italy. Over 2,700 attendees from more than 70 countries, an 80 percent rise in delegates, gathered at the Mostra D’Oltremare Congress Center. Trips included ancient and Renaissance archaeological sites, and legacy projects donated excess food and helped build community housing. From Boardroom…
Food waste is a universal problem, a lesson in Moroccan manners clearly shows. In the latest Meeting Room of the Future report from IACC, 62 percent of planners consider how a venue manages its waste before booking. 54 percent want to know if it buys from sustainable sources. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
A year ago Amsterdam hosted the 22nd International Aids Conference. A visual “dressing” campaign made the meeting very hard to miss in and around the city. Holland may be a compact in size as a conference destination, but it packs a punch when it comes to its knowledge infrastructure and congress capabilities. From Boardroom…
During Meetings Africa 2019 held recently in Johannesburg, a noticeable change of tone was detected in the young doctors and scientists attending the Association Day presented by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). It was a clear message to established medical association leaders that “Madiba’s Children” have arrived with legacy in their hearts. One…
Hamburg Convention Bureau is busy profiling the city as a medical hub. So is the soon-to-reopen CCH – Congress Center Hamburg. Home to internationally renowned doctors and hospitals, over 169,000 people work in Hamburg’s healthcare sector, or one employee in seven. As a result the city is securing one medical congress after another. From Boardroom…
Unlike anything humanity has experienced before, the current scale, scope and complexity of change is shaking foundations society has accepted as the norm. Five converging megaforces present destinations with both tremendous opportunities and challenges: climate breakdown, ecocide, demographic shift, social change and digitalisation. The meetings and events industry supports 26 million jobs, $1.5 trillion in global…
A new era of sustainability is rising and set to shape the future of the events industry, according to a new white paper just out from the Global Destination Sustainability Index, an Iceberg partner. The report details case studies, data analysis and actions taken by 47 destination management organisations and municipalities. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Austria’s largest congress centre, Austria Center Vienna, has revealed that 2018 was the most successful year in its three-decade history. The venue generated €14.85 million (£13 million) and also welcomed 136,000 international delegates, representing a 29 percent year-on-year increase in visitor numbers. From Association Meetings International…
The Scottish Event Campus has had its most successful year since 2014 and the Commonwealth Games. Trading turnover increased by 21 percent to £35.1 million, and contributed an average of £1.5 million per day to the Glasgow economy in 2018 – 19, a total of £457 million over the year. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Delegates at the Africa Associations Congress in Pretoria this August will be given insider tips on how to deliver a successful international conference. Last year more than 140 delegates from African associations, as well as international delegates from Europe and USA, attended the event’s first ever running in the same city. From Association Meetings International…
The Palais des congrès de Montréal has put together a Sustainability Innovation Committee made up of experts from institutions including ten Quebec universities. The group’s purpose will be to facilitate sharing academic research in the field, and to identify research partnership opportunities between the venue and sustainability organisations. From Boardroom…
ICC Wales has demonstrated a strong commitment to attracting major international association meetings by launching a drive at Swansea University recruiting for its Ambassador Wales Programme. The scheme aims to establish a network of patriotic professionals who will be championing the country as a conference and event destination. From Association Meetings International…
While nobody can predict the future, the BestCities Global Forum looks to offer perhaps the next best thing: a futurologists’ analysis of challenges the meetings industry may face in 20 years’ time. In conjunction with the Copenhagen Convention Bureau, the conference will take place in the Danish capital this December. From Boardroom…
Africa’s Travel Indaba, hosted again at the Durban ICC, has attracted over 1,000 exhibitors and 1,500 buyers, as well as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (centre). The event was organised around greening principles in evidence throughout the three days, which included introducing Meetings Africa’s Green Stand Award for the most sustainable exhibitor. From the Event…
Prague’s emergency medicine practitioners hope hosting the 13th Congress of the European Society for Emergency Medicine will support further development of the fledgling field in the Czech Republic. Some 2,000 specialists from around the world are expected to attend the event at the Prague Congress Centre in October. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
The International Association for Suicide Prevention has selected the Gold Coast to host its 31st World Congress in 2021. The meeting will bring together around 800 mental health professionals, academics, crisis workers, teachers and suicide survivors from around the world. The bid was a collaborative effort with strong local support. From Boardroom…
Sydney is to welcome 36 global medical meetings over the next five years in a nod to its leadership in healthcare. BESydney CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith said the support of local experts, and committed State and Federal Governments that have prioritised the sector, all played a huge part in BESydney’s winning streak. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
At the swansong of IMEX Frankfurt 2019, IMEX Group has reported, almost 70,000 individual and group appointments between attendees had taken place over the show’s three days. 72 percent of these had mini requests for proposals (RFPs) attached to them. The event hosted 250 education sessions. 47 percent of speakers were women. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Five Canadian convention bureaux recently attended London Tech Week’s AI Summit at ExCeL. Their aim was to attract tech-related business events across to their own destinations, along with the inward investment that follows. Among them was Virginie De Visscher, Director of Business Development for Economic Sectors, Business Events Canada (third left). From Association Meetings International…
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