The meetings industry has joined others in condemning anti-LGBT laws in Brunei, where sex between men just became a capital offence and sex between women punishable by up to ten years in prison. IAPCO and DRPG have warned of damage this will cause to the sultanate’s destination status. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Thailand’s aspiration to become a leading pharmaceutical destination has received a shot in the arm with the country recently hosting the CPhI Southeast Asia trade show. Organiser UBM brought the event to Bangkok for the first time in conjunction with the Thai Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and Board of Investment. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
Quebec’s forestry is both extremely beautiful, especially in Autumn, and also a major resource and industry for the region. Now the province is building on sector innovation to host Woodrise 2019, the second world congress on midrise and tall wood buildings. The event should attract over 1,000 international construction professionals. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
Imagine a place where strong African culture meets modern urban life, and where years of troubled history have given way to cosmopolitan regeneration. Add in a pioneering new venue like the Kigali Convention Centre, and welcome to the capital of Rwanda, “land of a thousand hills”, in central East Africa. From Boardroom…
Organisers, venues and convention bureaux have celebrated the 2019 Global Meetings Industry Day to promote the economic and societal benefits of the sector. Hundreds of events took place to mark GMID, which was founded by the Meetings Mean Business alliance in the US four years ago to spotlight industry legacies. From Association Meetings International…
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…
Karen Bolinger, tireless CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau, has announced her departure after more than seven-and-a-half years at the helm. She steps down in what is expected to be another record year for the bureau in terms of economic contribution, adding around AU$500 million to the region’s coffers. From Association Meetings International…
Fourteen Club Melbourne Ambassadors have been awarded at the annual Club awards ceremony, held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, for securing nine international conferences in 2018. The nine events are expected to generate around AU$95 million in economic impact for the state of Victoria and deliver 63,700 delegate days. From Melbourne Convention Bureau…
The Edinburgh International Conference Centre has posted record financial results for 2018 as managers wary of a Brexit downturn target growth opportunities outside Europe. EICC is owned by Edinburgh City Council, which last month cut £300,000 from the annual budget of Marketing Edinburgh, the body that runs CVB Convention Edinburgh. From Association Meetings International…
From campaigns in Atlanta and New York combating human trafficking, to a visit to Washington DC and Capitol Hill sharing the sector’s economic value with members of Congress, the global meetings industry came together on April 4th at events all around the world to create legacies for Global Meetings Industry Day. From PCMA…
Don Welsh, CEO of Destinations International, once headed up individual convention bureaux in Seattle, Indianapolis and Chicago. Now he’s the leader of the entire CVB community. Here he describes how the roles differ, and also how the function of a convention bureau has evolved in recent years. From PCMA…
Meetings Africa 2019, recently held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, featured both South Africa Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom (pictured left) and Iceberg friend Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo of the South Africa National Convention Bureau. Now the continent will be looking to farming technology event Agritech Africa to shape and secure its future. From Boardroom…
From mergers and acquisitions in the hotel sector, not to mention its commission cuts, to concerns about security, both of person and of data, including GDPR compliance, here’s a look at key pointers found in the Incentive Research Foundation’s 2019 Trends Study that are expected to affect the buoyant incentive travel industry. From PCMA…
The Iceberg is publishing a series of interviews about the globalisation of large associations. These are jointly produced by partners Boardroom and the Global Association Hubs Partnership. Matthew D’Uva, CEO of the Washington DC-headquartered International Association for the Study of Pain, describes reaching 100 chapters around the world. From Global Association Hubs Partnership…
The launch of business events by industry can make a significant contribution to the growth strategies of cities and states. In 2015 Aloysius Arlando, Chief Executive of SingEx Holdings, co-created the Singapore Fintech Festival as Asia’s hub for the intersection of its finance and tech sectors. The legacies of this event launch with partners including…
The Korean Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy has organised the world’s fifth conference in the field to further its aim of taking a leading global role. KSGE established the International Digestive Endoscopy Network and its event to overcome the limitations of national academic meetings. Photo: Galenus Medical. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
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…
Leeds has been chosen to host the international XborderAsia Exhibition 2019 thanks to the city’s “rapidly growing” financial and technology sectors. The bi-annual meeting will welcome around 500 international delegates to the Royal Armouries International in September. 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…
Michael Hirst has been appointed chair of the Events Industry Board by UK tourism minister Michael Ellis MP following the resignation of Nick de Bois last year. Hirst has served as deputy chair since the body’s 2016 creation. He is also chair of BVEP (the Business Visits and Events Partnership). 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…
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