Wellington in New Zealand punches above its weight in meetings. Last year the Business Events team at WellingtonNZ won 34 conference bids across a range of industries like computational engineering, medical science, environmental studies and public law. A new convention centre is due to open by the end of 2022. From Association Meetings International…
Many DMOs (Destination Marketing Organisations) have started to realise the true value of meetings and are tracking the social outcomes they deliver. Some governments include business events as part of policy. Karen Bolinger, Strategic Advisor at Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance, talks “beyond tourism” legacies. From City / Nation / Place…
As organisations consider how to address the impact of coronavirus on upcoming meetings and events, what about the legal and insurance issues that arise? Barbara Dunn is a Partner with the Associations and Foundations Practice Group within Barnes and Thornburg, practicing in association, meetings, travel and hospitality, law. From PCMA…
Who helps an association to decide which destination should host its next conference? Who better to provide the personal element than the city’s own thought leaders? Prague’s Ambassador Program started back in 2008, shortly after the establishment of the Prague Convention Bureau. A collection of academics was assembled with immediate results. From Boardroom…
Mobile World Congress, the huge smartphone conference, has been cancelled after significant exhibitors pulled out citing the coronavirus crisis. The association behind the event, GSMA, could have to foot the bill for the entire cost of cancellation unless Spain’s government declares the outbreak a health emergency. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
In China, major venues like the Wuhan International Convention and Exhibition Center have been repurposed as temporary hospitals during the novel coronavirus crisis. But British nationals evacuated from Wuhan, the centre of the outbreak, have been taken to Kents Hill Park hotel and conference centre to spend fourteen days in quarantine. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The potential long-term impact of novel coronavirus on international events was underlined after planners cancelled a massive art fair in Hong Kong. Art Basel, Asia’s largest event of the kind, had to be called off even though taking place in late March. Iceberg partner ICCA has made a statement on the outbreak. From Association Meetings International…
Glasgow’s Conference Ambassador Programme, the first in the UK, has contributed at least £650 million to the city’s economy since it started thirty years ago. The scheme has 1,600 members. 141 events, indeed 35 percent of all meetings held in Glasgow last year, were led by a local conference ambassador. From Association Meetings International…
Dubai Business Events chalked up 301 successful bids for meetings, conferences and incentives in 2019. Set to attract over 150,000 delegates in coming years, the wins will deliver around 620,000 room nights for the emirate. DBE’s Al Safeer Congress Ambassadors Programme grew to 342 active ambassadors in 2019. From Meetings International…
As coronavirus continues to disrupt global travel and trade, planners of events are delaying, cancelling, or soldiering on with their plans. The Singapore Airshow 2020 has gone ahead with temperature screening on site. But some exhibitors have pulled out and a related conference has been cancelled. Other events have been postponed. From PCMA…
The Joint Meetings Industry Council, which presents The Iceberg, has put out a statement about coronavirus. President Kai Hattendorf said the crisis showed that freedom and will to travel to meetings can be easily affected. But events are also the best way to address such issues. Photo: CDC / Dr Fred Murphy. From Association Meetings International…
Travel restrictions are in force across the globe as the number of cases of novel coronavirus continues to grow worldwide and the death toll within China mounts. The outbreak is now disrupting meetings all across the region. A UN biodiversity meeting was relocated. IT&CM China and CTW China have been postponed. From Association Meetings International…
The Events Industry Council recently held a webinar “Industry Discussion on Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV): Identifying Reliable Sources and Factors for Informed Decision Making”. The conversation centred on how organisers should approach the choices about whether or not to postpone or cancel an event. Photo: Huangdan2060. From PCMA…
The Iceberg recently published German Convention Bureau MD Matthias Schultze’s views about the multisite BOCOM conference being held this April. As the coronavirus crisis devastates the whole global meetings industry, this borderless communication event’s approach could perhaps not be more timely. From Matthias Schultze via LinkedIn…
As coronavirus isolates China from outside countries, Ping Liu, CEO of destination management company and professional congress organiser China Star, offers cultural views on how her business is approaching cancellations and postponements. Links to Professional Convention Management Association resources on coronavirus. Photo: Painjet. From PCMA…
Both the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild served meatless meals during their award ceremonies this January. Meatless meals were also served up at Convening Leaders in San Francisco, sponsored by Iceberg partner IMEX. There are many good reasons to go meatless, but it’s not always easy getting attendees to stomach the idea. From PCMA…
As global leaders form strategies to contain the spread of coronavirus, so also must event managers and owners. Four distinct requirements are critical to meet. That’s according to Sylvia André, the Vice President for Marketing and Communications at Iceberg partner MCI. The article links to Professional Convention Management Association resources on coronavirus. From PCMA…
“Conference shame” was the term used in a Bloomberg article about the threat to events of “the Greta effect”. So the sector now needs to get its “game face” on. Partners of the Iceberg IMEX, Positive Impact and GDS-Index have already done so. Photo: World Economic Forum / Manuel Lopez. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
2020 began with disturbing images of burnt koalas and fears of their “imminent extinction”. Climate change has played a role in the catastrophic and unprecedented early fire season, and the meeting industry can take a lead in tackling this universal issue. Paula Blomster of MPI’s European Advisory Council explains. From Association Meetings International…
It has ancient academic powerhouses with adjacent knowledge clusters like Oxford and Cambridge. It has the meetings-friendly pairing of Newcastle and Gateshead in the North, not to mention Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and of course London. England’s expertise is making it a world-class meeting destination. Photo: VisitBritain / Guy Richardson. From Boardroom…
Athens boasts an event history that spans 5,000 years. Holding modern meetings across sectors like maritime, sports, architectural design and culture, This is Athens-Convention & Visitors Bureau is now launching its own destination ambassador programme to attract knowledge through international conferences and grow sectors like IT. From Boardroom…
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