The past year has transformed the way the international association meetings industry does business. As a result, the International Congress and Convention Association has also reinvented its 2020 ICCA Statistics Report on the association meetings market. The Iceberg partner has prepared this latest iteration of the study with a more holistic and accurate representation of the…
In a surprise move, just days before PCMA invited the business events community to participate in its May COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that fully vaccinated individuals no longer had to wear masks outdoors and indoors, except in hospitals, on public transit and other specified places. CDC’s latest…
The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre is now Malaysia’s largest vaccination centre. The Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau has launched the Business Events Stewards Programme. Backed also by the secretariat of the Malaysia Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers, the scheme is providing volunteer venue staff at vaccination centres. From Exhibition World…
It has been revealed that COP26 President Alok Sharma has taken flights to 30 countries over the last seven months. The UK government minister running the UN’s climate change conference in Glasgow has been accused of hypocrisy, racking up tens of thousands of air miles in quick succession. From Association Meetings International…
The UK has announced an insurance scheme for events, the government joining with Lloyd’s as a “reinsurer”, to make sure commercial insurers can offer products event planners require. The scheme will support gatherings like music festivals and business events, covering risks of cancellation under any pandemic restrictions. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Hopin has raised $450 million in Series D investment. Since February 2020, the virtual meetings platform has raised over $1 billion in all. The new round values Hopin, formed in 2019, at $7.75 billion. It has scaled from six to over 800 employees in over 47 countries since the start of 2020. From Conference News…
With Expo 2020 Dubai opening in October, the emirate is poised to welcome major corporate and incentive groups intending to let delegates explore the show during their visit. The new Dubai Exhibition Centre within the Expo 2020 site will also host several important events, including the Dubai Association Conference. From Meetings International…
Many association event workers accept the benefits of holding hybrid meetings but believe barriers are too high to run them well. A report from Eventsforce, which looks at hybrid association events plus challenges and opportunities they bring, reveals that 49 percent are unsure if hybrid has much of a future for them. From Association Meetings International…
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…
An early casualty of the pandemic, Mobile World Congress 2021 has welcomed back 20,000 on site delegates to host city Barcelona, with 100,000 taking part virtually. The show made news in February last year when organisers GSMA made a late call to cancel as the pandemic started to spread. From Association Meetings International…
The pandemic offers a chance for the global business events sector to reinvent itself. So says a white paper and recovery roadmap just jointly released by PCMA, the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau, Singapore Tourism Board, as well as Iceberg partner UFI. But the paper also details havoc already wreaked upon the industry. From PCMA…
Event sustainability group isla has launched proseed, billed as the first universal framework for delivering sustainable meetings. Launched in September 2020 in response to the climate crisis, isla’s twelve founding members have since grown to over 75, with a mix of brands, agencies, venues and event suppliers. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The UK government’s full Events Research Programme report was finally published following mounting pressure from the industry and MPs. Phase I recorded only 28 COVID-19 cases across nine pilot events with 58,000 participants. The Liverpool business event pilot chosen, Change Business for Good (pictured), saw no transmission cases. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Meetings industry leaders have just convened at a roundtable to thrash out their strategy for the future of business events in Australia. The event was hosted by both Tourism Australia and the Business Events Council of Australia, whose Deputy Chair Geoff Donaghy (pictured) is also CEO of meeting venue ICC Sydney. From Conference & Meetings World…
When a US academic recently asked on Twitter whether our professional organisations should have vaccine and mask requirements at their on site meetings this autumn, the result was unexpectedly definitive. It also sets the stage for a challenging few months ahead, for the organisations, for destination local authorities, and also for attendees. From PCMA…
Much is said about serendipity at events. A recent gathering of the Membership Committee for the African Society of Association Executives, attended by Gary Grimmer of Iceberg partner GainingEdge, saw a chance encounter develop into a legacy collaboration helping Girl Guides to learn beekeeping. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
When a healthcare meeting chose to require verification of COVID-19 vaccination for attendees, it had to figure out how to do so in practice. The HIMSS21 conference just held used CLEAR Health Pass Validation and Safe Expo Vaccine Concierge Validation to verify status of staff, vendors and attendees. From Associations Now…
The new Society for Incentive Travel Excellence in Great Britain President, Chris Parnham, has urged UK event professionals to get fully COVID-19 vaccinated and to see the act as an extension of their passport. In a call to echo globally, Parnham suggests they choose to help or hinder sector recovery. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
As more meetings return fully in person or as hybrid with in person components, there is the chance that someone will test positive for COVID-19 following attendance. Having a plan to deal with this is crucial, and that plan begins by helping delegates understand to whom to report the information. From Associations Now…
On paper, travelling to meetings is less friendly to the environment than meeting virtually. But events face-to-face have value add hard to quantify. Human interaction is vital for challenging entrenched ways of doing business. To tackle climate change, we must surely collaborate in person as well as online. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were the most expensive to date, and too big to fail, despite ongoing challenges from the pandemic. Gary Grimmer, the Executive Chairman of Iceberg partner GainingEdge, says they make a timely case study for planners and destinations in the new paradigm of broadcast-friendly hybrid events. From Meetings & Conventions Asia…
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