IBTM World has announced its 32nd edition, including a new Corporate Buyers programme, which will take place at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona this November. But the Iceberg partner will also hold IBTM Asia Pacific at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre in April 2020. From 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The Scottish Event Campus has had its most successful year since 2014 and the Commonwealth Games. Trading turnover increased by 21 percent to £35.1 million, and contributed an average of £1.5 million per day to the Glasgow economy in 2018 – 19, a total of £457 million over the year. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Record numbers of exhibition professionals around the world celebrated June 5, the fourth Global Exhibitions Day, which highlights how the industry generates $325 billion in total output globally and contributes $198 billion to GDP worldwide. An estimated 90 countries took part, according to preliminary data from Iceberg partner UFI, the sector’s global association. From PCMA…
Professionals from right across the business events industry have been honoured in Frankfurt at the IMEX Gala Dinner. The 2019 JMIC Unity Award went to Joachim König, Director of Hannover Congress Centrum. Emile Coetzee from North-West University in South Africa won the MPI Foundation / Maritz Global Events Student Scholarship Award. From the Event…
The Board of Directors of Iceberg partner UFI, global association of the exhibition industry, has elected Anbu Varathan (left) President for 2020 – 2021. He is the first person from India to hold the role. The decision was made at a Board meeting that began the UFI European Conference in Birmingham, United Kingdom. From the Event…
At the swansong of IMEX Frankfurt 2019, IMEX Group has reported, almost 70,000 individual and group appointments between attendees had taken place over the show’s three days. 72 percent of these had mini requests for proposals (RFPs) attached to them. The event hosted 250 education sessions. 47 percent of speakers were women. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Five Canadian convention bureaux recently attended London Tech Week’s AI Summit at ExCeL. Their aim was to attract tech-related business events across to their own destinations, along with the inward investment that follows. Among them was Virginie De Visscher, Director of Business Development for Economic Sectors, Business Events Canada (third left). From Association Meetings International…
As IMEX Frankfurt wraps up for another year, the events industry is already looking foward towards IMEX America this September in Las Vegas. “Imagination” is IMEX’s talking point for the year, and this theme will inform content throughout the meeting, bringing with it exciting new experiences, exhibitors and educational sessions. From Boardroom…
A legacy of awareness around visual impairment was created during IMEX in Frankfurt with the holding of a “Dialogue in the Dark” workshop. Hosted by industry association IAPCO, and the business events teams of both Dubai and Melbourne, it all started with a blindfold. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
The head of tourism association Destinations International says his organisation spends a lot of its energy and resources doing battle with politicians around the world on behalf of members facing financial and legislative challenges. CEO Don Welch was speaking out at IMEX about issues like “over-tourism” and womens’ and LGBTQ rights. From Association Meetings International…
At the recent CEO Summit held in London by Iceberg partner UFI, Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism Saif Saeed Ghobash explained how international business events and exhibitions play a key role in diversifying the emirate’s economy away from petrochemicals. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
There is widespread disagreement over what legacy means when it comes to international meetings, and no consistency in terms of how either associations or destinations approach the subject. So says a new study by various Danish convention bureaux, and meetings consultancy and Iceberg partner GainingEdge, released at IMEX in Frankfurt. From Association Meetings International…
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