Sheffield has welcomed over 200 international delegates to the first ever International Child and Adolescent Knee Congress. The two-day meeting was organised by local ambassadors and orthopaedic surgeons Nick Nicolaou and Fazal Ali. Delivering about £250,000 in economic impact to the city, the event is set to remain in Sheffield long-term. From Association Meetings International…
The Hague is using its role as host of the 2019 European Geothermal Congress to encourage further geothermal deployment across the continent. The destination aims to be carbon-neutral by 2030, and has at least four geothermal heating plants planned. EGC 2019 just took place at the World Forum. From Association Meetings International…
Professor Eileen Murphy, head of Archaeology and Palaeoecology at Queen’s University Belfast, helped secure the European Association of Archaeology’s annual conference for the city in 2022. A Northern Ireland Ambassador, Murphy worked with the convention bureau at Visit Belfast in bidding for the meeting, expected to generate £3.8 million for city coffers. From Association Meetings International…
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 Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau has launched a “Meet Special Bonus” to secure more major events. The bonus of THB 50,000 ($1,628) is for planners holding an event with at least 100 international delegates staying for least three nights and using a venue recognised by the Thailand MICE Venue Standard. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Any manifestation of political instability can have a devastating effect on a destination’s perceived attractiveness for staging major events. Stuart Bailey, the CEO of a Hong Kong-based exhibition and conference organiser, believes that international impressions of the special administrative region’s recent protests are overblown, and should not deter either business or leisure visitors. From UFI…
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…
You don’t have to be a doctor to change people’s lives! On June 5th, Global Exhibitions Day brought the industry together like never before. GED 2019 also saw the sector trying to quantify the huge transformative power of exhibitions as a medium, for entrepreneurs, businesses of all sizes, and destinations. From UFI…
Dr Lance O’Sullivan certainly knows the power of conferences. Aged 17, the twice-expelled disruptive child from a deprived background was taken to a Māori medicine meeting by his aunt. A smart and charismatic doctor speaking there captured the teenager’s attention and started his career path as healthcare innovator. From 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…
On the occasion of 2019’s Global Exhibitions Day (GED), UFI, the industry’s global association, is launching a new report and online database. These will track initiatives and projects in the global exhibitions business shaped around the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. This resource, a first of its kind, aims to showcase work done…
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…
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