Our one-and-a-half-day event provides you with a unique opportunity to meet and network with European colleagues managing city cards schemes, to share knowledge and insights to stay ahead of the latest market trends & anticipate customers’ needs, and to grow your business in a sustainable way as well as strengthen your professional expertise.
An industry built on the power of human relationships is confronting machine-produced site recommendations. What if AI gets the answer wrong? A meeting destination used to have a fairly good idea of what a planner was considering. Now, AI is replacing that first website visit or email to a salesperson. From Skift Meetings…
Zambia makes the connection between its planned healthcare infrastructure investment and opportunities to develop conference facilities, attract international visitors and establish a wider medical and tourism destination — demonstrating how major healthcare projects can also create opportunities for meetings, business events and destination development. From Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, Government of Zambia…
City Destinations Alliance has concluded the 40th edition of its CityDNA Summer School in Dijon. Taking place in August, the milestone edition welcomed 49 students from 16 countries across Europe. Since 1987, more than 2,200 business events professionals have taken part in the programme, building knowledge, confidence and connections at the start of their careers.
On September 16, 2026, Destinations International (DI), the world’s leading association representing destination organizations and convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs), will bring together destination leaders, public officials, policy experts and industry partners for its second global Virtual Advocacy Day, a must-attend global program designed to help destination professionals navigate this increasingly complex environment.
COO of Business Events Adelaide Tony Saulters explains how his bureau focuses on the world-class specialisations in his destination when determining which events to target, assessing their potential importance not just on delegate numbers and expenditure, but on their capacity to drive inward investment and talent acquisition, and the extent to which they can facilitate…
Y.T. Anderson, of Visit Northern Finland & Oulu Convention Bureau, reflects on City DNA’s 40th Summer School, designed for newcomers to business events. He shares insights into the changing models of destination leadership, the shift from bednight-driven metrics to societal impact, and the growing influence of the new generation of future leaders in our sector.
Dubai is taking a strategic approach to maintaining its position as a leading business events destination amid regional uncertainty and risk. Flexibility, long-term relationships and trust are central to the strategy, with two venues, adaptable planning and unlimited date changes offering organisers greater reassurance and the ability to respond as circumstances evolve. From CMW…
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Alyson Robb is a public relations specialist with over 20 years of experience in the public and private sector. Alyson has worked for different members of government, both at the federal and provincial level, providing communications and strategic political advice. She is also successful in creating positive working relationships with various external partners. Currently, Alyson…
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Anthony Cassidy from Manchester Convention Bureau dissects the process of identifying targets, building ambassador capacity and bidding teams, and establishing trust with decision-makers in targeted organisations and events – a useful guide for destinations developing a bidding strategy linked to their economic development strategy, or looking to compare and benchmark their approach with others.
642 delegates from 177 cities across 12 countries attended the 5th International Placemaking Week in June in Detroit. Experiential learning was at the centre of the educational programme, with opportunities to view and understand regenerative and resilient placemaking initiatives located across the city, ensuring extensive hands-on and tacit knowledge exchanges as well as formal learning.
Why does The Iceberg consider the just-released IMEX White Paper, “Place Leadership and the Business Events Sector”, to be so important? In almost four decades of monitoring and supporting this sector, The Iceberg Curator, Martin Sirk, has reviewed hundreds of research reports, policy documents, and thought-leadership papers, yet he notes that “few match this paper’s…
Speaking at this year’s Place Leaders Forum at IMEX Frankfurt, future of cities expert Prof. Greg Clark articulates the potential for business events to fulfil a pivotal role within destinations’ strategic thinking, thanks to the emergence of new competitive realities as we enter an era where the Innovation Economy interacts with the Experience Economy. Our…
Singapore demonstrates how business events can deliver economic policy goals and strategic destination positioning. This event will attract high-level international participation, not only through its own agenda (including new policy announcements), but through synergy with events on related themes: Singapore International Energy Week, Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology, and the Asian Downstream Summit.
Destinations International’s advocacy team has put together resources to help destinations pivot their stakeholder messaging to one centered around the organization’s true customer: the resident. Take a look at videos, case studies, lexicons and more information that will help you communicate the value of your organization to your entire community.
Paul Coulson despairs at cuts to the business events team within VisitBritain whilst the sector is attracting major investment and widespread recognition of its utility as a driver of economic and societal value. It’s time for joined-up thinking by policymakers that respects the essential role business events marketing plays at a national level. From CMW…
Saudi Arabia has invested billions to become a global meetings hub, but Routes World’s decision to move its flagship event to Frankfurt shows attendee confidence can outweigh even the most ambitious destination strategy. It will now run October 21–23 at Messe Frankfurt, instead of October 27–29 at Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Center. From Skift…
Anna Look argues that the most important impact of conference subvention programmes such as Canada’s International Convention Attraction Fund (ICAF) comes from the conversations that can be initiated with local intellectual and business leaders, enabling them to understand how their bidding for and hosting of international meetings can exploit and showcase their expertise and attributes.
A focused, global virtual experience that expands advocacy beyond government relations—bringing together destination leaders, boards, partners, and community stakeholders. Gain practical tools, shared language and clear next steps to strengthen advocacy in your destination. Advocacy is now essential for securing funding and support, aligning stakeholders and communicating impact beyond tourism…
Northstar’s premier hosted-buyer event designed specifically for small and boutique-sized meetings brings together highly-qualified meeting buyers with destinations, hotels, DMCs, technology and merchandise providers, and other suppliers ready to welcome smaller events. Attendees participate in one-on-one pre-scheduled appointments, gain industry insights from our guest speakers and network with this exclusive group.
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