For the first time, the total economic impact of exhibitions around the world has been calculated by Iceberg partner UFI, the industry’s global association. With an output of $325 billion in business sales every year, the sector matches many industries, and ranks equal to the 56th largest economy in the world. From the Event…
As event organisers attract bigger audiences, they can outgrow the centres that once hosted them. But expansion of those venues is a tall order since most involve public funding. Getting buy-in for major investment may mean navigating a complex political maze, wrangling support, and explaining why a centre matters to a city’s economy. From PCMA…
Big association conferences are often regarded as being at the very centre of the events universe, with long lead times and high returns, both in prestige and legacy. But professional congress organisers also create original events, like Kenes Group’s recent and “tribal” World Hospital at Home Congress (pictured). From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
A global initiative to address plastic use at events has just been launched by Iceberg partner Positive Impact, supported by the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The campaign is collecting usage data as well as encouraging the switch to alternative materials, and began when the two organisations’ CEOs met at a conference. From PCMA…
The Event Africa, in partnership with The Iceberg, presents a case study on the Tanzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center. GICEC capitalises on its intellectual resources and has purpose-built a venue to serve local industry by enabling trade on a global platform. This includes GICEC’s Robotation Academy, housed on site. From the Event…
VisitBritain’s flagship business event MeetGB has been held in Windsor, and VisitScotland Expo has said that its recent staging was one of the biggest since the event began life in 1980. The exhibition took place at Glasgow’s SEC over two days, and saw 340 businesses showcasing products to over 550 buyers. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
World Travel Market Africa 2019 has been held at CTICC (the Cape Town International Convention Centre), with thousands of exhibitors and buyers from across the globe attending the leading travel and tourism event in the continent. The meeting included both the African Responsible Travel Awards, and two-day Business Case for Responsible Tourism conference. From the Event…
The Cannabis Expo has just lit up Cape Town for four days, as visitors to Sun Exhibits, GrandWest, arrived and learnt about this rapidly growing industry. Over 16,500 attended the show, even more than visited its inaugural staging in Pretoria. The expo heads to Durban this June. From the Event…
Over nine million guests have visited the Vancouver Convention Centre from across the world in its ten year history, generating more than $2.4 billion in direct spend for British Columbia. The events held at the venue include TED conferences, trade shows, corporate meetings, banquets and fundraisers. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Funding has been approved for a $500 million expansion that will double the size of Calgary’s BMO Centre to almost a million square feet and transform it into Canada’s second-largest venue. The further funding will create new spaces for hosting conferences, meetings and exhibitions, to help attract larger conventions and events. From Meetings International…
The Kuala Lumpur-based Malaysia International Trade & Exhibition Centre is increasing its number of meeting rooms. Two new spaces will open in September, the largest for up to 1,200 attendees. MITEC is the third largest venue in Southeast Asia and capable of hosting “mega-exhibitions” for over 100,000 and conventions of 20,000. From Association Meetings International…
The largest event management and exhibition organising company in Hungary, Hungexpo, has announced record turnover for 2018. Hungexpo had earned more than £21 million by the end of the year, up almost 30 percent on 2017. Major events in 2018 included the Congress of the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Expoforum, the new congress and exhibition centre in St Petersburg, is trying to raise its profile as a place to host major international association congresses. As well as entering into media partnerships, attending trade shows and focussing on its ICCA membership, the venue has also engaged business development consultants. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The financial health of a medical association convention can depend on whether its exhibition floor is or isn’t sold out. Attending doctors though aren’t usually buying drugs directly but prescribing them. So measuring the return on investment of exhibiting at medical meetings has become a science in its own right. From PCMA…
The City of London – the capital’s historic financial district – could be set for a Brexit boost, with more than three quarters of City venues expecting an increase in revenue over the next 12 months, according to a new survey. 70 percent of respondents were optimistic about the coming year. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The UK Events Industry Board has launched a survey to help assess the value of EU grants, infrastructure funding and service-related projects that have benefited the business events industry. The EIB is urging destinations to complete a survey identifying EU funding for projects like ICC Birmingham in 1989. Photo: Roy Hughes. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The publishers of a planned report into the size and value of Britain’s events sector have made a call for contributions from the industry. The study from the Business Visits and Events Partnership, due out this Autumn, will be used to profile the sector to politicians, the media and wider business community. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
2019’s International Women’s Day is aiming to leave behind the legacy of a more gender-balanced world. Jill Manley, Business Development Director at ICC Wales, looks at the role of women in the meetings industry. All of the senior sales directors and managers at ICC Wales are female. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
How hard has the art of putting together panels become in an age more finely attuned to gender inequality? In the run up to International Women’s Day, a conference came under fire for being too sure it was booking panels, not manels. It invited only women scientists to speak. From PCMA…
During a busy European Cities Marketing Spring Meeting 2019 in Edinburgh, meetings professionals debated the successes and failures of city event organisations from all over the continent. Contributors included Iceberg partner ECM’s President, Dieter Hardt-Stremayr. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
London’s 15Hatfields was set up as a sustainable venue in 2008, avoiding single-use plastics from day one. The venue needed to find a general manager who could embody this environmentally-minded ethos. Warren Campbell has been helping clients embrace sustainability in Central London ever since. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
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