The crucial role played by meetings in developing economies has been underscored with Business Events Sarawak’s revelation it had secured RM3 billion ($718 million) in business from conferences. Now marking its fifteenth anniversary, the convention bureau also intends deeper societal impact, with half of bid wins to be legacy-driven. From Association Meetings International…
The spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is causing havoc for meeting planners, with major events being cancelled or postponed right across Europe. The World Economic Forum has postponed its high profile meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The in person event, scheduled for mid January, has been pushed back to the Summer. From Association Meetings International…
The tourism trade fair ITB Berlin has announced it will not take place in March 2022 as was planned, due to increasing Omicron infection rates. A dedicated Digital Business Day will be held on March 17th, plus during 2022 ITB will be staging a European roadshow for buyers and suppliers. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, whose ceremonial launch has now taken place, already has fifty “multi-day conferences” on the books with further events also in the pipeline, from exhibitions to smaller meetings and seminars. The venue replaces the original Christchurch Convention Centre badly damaged during the 2011 earthquake. From Association Meetings International…
A new report into the economic impact of business events to the UK’s West Midlands has revealed that delegates spent £2.3 billion in the region in 2019. Around 105,000 meetings took place, contributing 14.5 million delegate days in the West Midlands. 65,000 full-time equivalent posts are supported by the region’s business tourism. Fom Conference News…
Organiser Reed Exhibitions has said that its 2021 edition of IBTM World in Barcelona, the first face-to-face event in the Iceberg partner IBTM portfolio in two years, drew 7,000 attendees together onto site with 30,000 pre-scheduled one-to-one business meetings taking place. The IBTM World Association Programme was also created. From Conference News…
“MICE” is a term long-associated with the meetings sector. But now the small and wily mouse-deer of Malaysian folklore has become a metaphor for how Business Events Sarawak has crossed the river after the pandemic and resumed business events activities through its Legacy Impact Initiative. Photo: Dave Curtis. By Jane Vong Holmes, Senior Manager Asia, GainingEdge….
PCMA Editor-in-Chief Michelle Russell drew our attention to this discussion of how the model of scientific conference should be changing in the wake of the pandemic. It contains a fantastic example of serendipitous legacy, a chance meeting at a conference in Puerto Rico leading to some Nobel prize-winning CRISPR gene editing. From Chemistry World…
Fay Sharpe, Founder of the mentorship programme Fast Forward 15, was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s New Year’s honours for services to mentoring women, gender equality and charity fundraising. Sharpe has also retraced her career on M&IT’s Talks podcast. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
If attendees are missing the chance encounter at virtual events, the lack of “liminal” space in the environment may be the culprit. This can also be missing at in person events. Julius Solaris, VP of Marketing Strategy, Events at event tech company Hopin, gives us a new idea for planned serendipity, “liminality”. From PCMA…
Companies at Convening Leaders’ Tech Village at Caesars Forum were asked to identify what has changed about digital attendee experiences during 2021. The need for quality content with no “fluff” or “friction”, the opportunity for event delegates to socialise, and the chance to reach a global audience were among the key takeaways. From PCMA…
Hospitality Helping Hands (HHH) during PCMA Convening Leaders 22 left a legacy advancing child literacy across 62 schools in the Las Vegas area. The nonprofit Spread the Word Nevada brought in four big boxes to Caesar’s Forum with 10,000 books for children that volunteers sorted and prepped. PCMA’s Foundation also donated $10,000. From PCMA…
The UK events industry as a whole is a vastly fragmented animal, before the pandemic worth £84 billion to the country every year. This leading article from Martin Fullard is a direct message for the UK’s Government, which calls for the industry now to be shown the respect it deserves. From Conference News…
Anna Abdelnoor, Co-founder of the event sustainability body Isla, took a different journey to IBTM World in Barcelona this year. To show her commitment to slow travel, Anna opted for rail over air, and producd 97 percent lower carbon emissions than she would have had she flown. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Iceberg ambassador Jane Cunningham (pictured centre with Lesley Williams and Nigel Brown promoting “Incredible Impacts” as “The Incredibles”) is leaving Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance after twelve years. The Iceberg will pay its own tribute elsewhere, but Jane has also given this interview to her own BestCities colleagues. From BestCities Global Alliance…
PCMA’s Convening EMEA, which brought attendees from 29 nations together in Lausanne last October, started and ended on a sustainable note. Measures included giving the delegates a first-class pass on public transport, no paper handouts, and a hosting venue clad with columns of photovoltaic cells, the SwissTech Convention Center. Photo: Mattias Nutt. From PCMA…
The bad experience of an Israeli minister, unable to enter a COP26 venue because she is a wheelchair user, reveals the distance planners still have to travel on accessibility and inclusivity. Lizzy Eaton, the Founder of Oddity Events and Marketing, remembers her own mistake on accessibility. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
When a staffer from one Iceberg partner, ASAE, flew to Colombia to attend the annual global congress of another, ICCA, it was both her first time on a plane in two years, and her first event in the same period. Amy Hissrich learned COVID had changed both her and some of the logistics. From Associations Now…
The Net Zero Carbon Events pledge from the Joint Meetings Industry Council, which presents The Iceberg, has just been delivered at COP26. At the 60th Congress of our partner ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association), The Iceberg spoke to Aileen Crawford of the Glasgow Convention Bureau and to Guy Bigwood of the Global Destination Sustainability Movement. Speaking…
The Net Zero Carbon Events pledge from the Joint Meetings Industry Council, which presents The Iceberg, has just been delivered at COP26. Iceberg founder James Latham talks to former JMIC President Kai Hattendorf and Miguel Naranjo and Laura Lopez of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change about what it means for the sector….
Meeting professionals say they are feeling more confident and well-equipped to plan high-quality meetings and events and adapt to any ongoing uncertainties. This is according to the 2022 Global Meetings and Events Forecast, the 11th annual report produced by American Express Meetings & Events, a division of American Express Global Business Travel (GBT). The report’s…
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