VisitBerlin has announced a “major success” after being chosen to host the 11th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science in 2021. Over 6,000 experts will attend the largest global event of its kind at the CityCube, Messe Berlin. In 2018 medicine, healthcare and pharma accounted for 22 percent of Berlin events. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Australia’s Gold Coast recorded an increase of 19 percent in association meetings for the twelve months to 30 June 2018. Data compiled for the Queensland Business Events Survey shows that 313 associations met on the Gold Coast in the last financial year, up from 263 conferences recorded in the previous twelve months. From Boardroom…
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’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…
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…
Melbourne has been chosen as host city for the 2023 Rotary International Convention, a massive gathering expected to attract delegates from almost every country in the world. The event will be worth over AU$88 million to the local economy, so the bid led by the Melbourne Convention Bureau faced stiff competition. From Association Meetings International…
Edinburgh Marketing, the body behind the city’s convention bureau, has been dealt an eleventh hour reprieve after city councillors accepted a counter offer to proposed cuts. The council had sought to slash the organisation’s funding by £567,000 next year and by 89 percent over two years. Now it has reinstated £267,000. From Association Meetings International…
The value of the business events secured with the help of Tourism Australia’s Business Events Bid Fund Program has almost doubled from AU$97 million to a record AU$187 million in the past three months. Total expenditure by international meetings visitors in the year ending September 2018 was AU$4.9 billion, up 16 percent. From TTG Mice…
Conference ambassador programme Club Liverpool has honoured the ambassadors who brought £10.8 million worth of events to the city in 2018. Each ambassador who successfully brought a meeting to Liverpool was awarded a certificate by the Lord Mayor, with ten in all presented for seven different events. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Leaders from one of Europe’s most prestigious gatherings of destination marketing organisations have voiced disbelief at proposed budget cuts which could see the end of both Marketing Edinburgh and the city’s convention bureau. Partner of the Iceberg European Cities Marketing’s Spring Meeting 2019 has just been held in the Scottish capital. From Association Meetings International…
It’s been a busy year for James Rees, Executive Director of ExCeL London. Following election as ICCA President in November 2018, Rees reveals his approach to the US market, to diversity at both ExCeL and ICCA, and how being in a New Romantic pop band helped him thrive in the events industry. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Ambassadors help destinations secure international association meetings. So Edinburgh’s meetings industry has an anxious wait ahead of a council vote on budget cuts that could virtually wipe out the city’s marketing and lead to the closure of Convention Edinburgh and its ambassador scheme. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
Elliott Ferguson, President and CEO of Destination DC (as well as the new National chair of the US Travel Association), has been speaking about his city’s future strategy and new developments. Washington DC is the US number one spot for international association meetings, according to the last ICCA Statistics Report. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
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…
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…
Despite its reputation of centuries-old tradition, London is the mover and groover of the technology universe. 80 percent of venture capital invested in UK tech firms since 2016 has gone to the capital. This investment is drawing, indeed being facilitated by, venues and events sharing in the sector’s strength. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
London and Paris are collaborating to offer a range of travel products aimed at North American incentive buyers. Specialised itineraries of the two-in-one incentive trip have been created allowing delegates to experience new cultural attractions, restaurants and hotels in both capital cities. This includes an official partnership with Eurostar. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Academics across Edinburgh have slammed proposed budget cuts that would see an 89 percent drop in the capital’s marketing over the next two years as well as the closure of its ambassador programme. Over 75 Edinburgh ambassadors contacted the City Council objecting to the proposal to slash Marketing Edinburgh’s budget by £790,000. From Association Meetings International…
The largest international scientific meeting ever held in Estonia has been named “Conference of the Year” in a ceremony hosted by the country’s convention bureau. The winning 34th European Group for Organizational Studies Colloquium was hosted at the Estonian Business School and Tallinn University. The ECB also named new conference ambassadors. From Association Meeting International…
The Professional Convention Management Association is expanding education and outreach opportunities throughout Europe in 2019 with sessions in the UK, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland. As well as its annual European Influencers Summit and Knowledge Exchange programme, PCMA will continue collaborating with other major industry associations as education partner. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
New convention bureaux alliance Lausanne Montreux Congress won sixteen events in its first full year of operation, with the biggest likely to attract 1,400 delegates. The bids will see the cities host over 8,350 delegates between now and 2022, and pump around CHF 16.5 million (€14.5 million) into the regional economy. From Association Meetings International…
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