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…
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…
While nobody can predict the future, the BestCities Global Forum looks to offer perhaps the next best thing: a futurologists’ analysis of challenges the meetings industry may face in 20 years’ time. In conjunction with the Copenhagen Convention Bureau, the conference will take place in the Danish capital this December. From Boardroom…
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…
The Women Deliver conference has just brought 8,000 world leaders, advocates, academics, activists and journalists from over 150 countries into the Vancouver Convention Centre. The meeting aims to influence policy makers and politicians, and to drive investment into the lives of girls and women. Photo: Jon Benjamin Photography. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Keith Tan has been the Singapore Tourism Board’s Chief Executive for about half a year. During IMEX he spoke about the city-state’s plans and approaches for continuing to attract international associations and their meetings, which include working alongside Iceberg partners BestCities Global Alliance and Global Association Hubs Partnership. From Boardroom…
Expo 2020 Dubai and its legacy are expected to contribute AED122.6 billion of gross value added to the UAE’s economy from 2013–31, according to the EY report, The Economic Impact of Expo 2020 Dubai. The report states that Expo 2020 is also expected to support up to 905,200 full-time equivalent job-years in the UAE from…
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…
Hangzhou has held the largest ever China International Tea Expo, a 70,000 square metre exhibition bringing together government delegations from 30 well-known tea plantations. The show was organised by Shenzhen HJC Industrial Group, and co-hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China and the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
Making meetings sustainable is a top priority in Germany, as indicated by the results of the country’s Meeting & Event Barometer. The number of sustainable offers for meetings and conferences is increasing and just under 40 per cent of Germany’s venues have already implemented a system for managing sustainability. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Back in 2014, meetings and events industry veteran Fay Sharpe began Fast Forward 15, a mentoring programme to give 15 female professionals a voice in the industry. The scheme includes one-to-one sessions, group workshops and a graduation ceremony, held this year on board the Silver Sturgeon on the River Thames. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Recently almost sixty incentive travel professionals took planes, trains and automobiles from sixteen countries to Verbier, Switzerland, to attend the inaugural Society of Incentive Travel Excellence’s SITE Incentive Summit Europe. SITE’s Chief Marketing Officer now reports on the four day alpine excursion of connections, education and destination discovery. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
The Events Industry Council has announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer, Amy Calvert, after a global search. Calvert is currently Senior Vice President of Convention Sales and Services with Visit Baltimore, and has worked in the past for Long Beach Convention Bureau and Intercontinental Hotels Group. From the Events Industry Council…
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…
The looming threat of climate change poses huge questions for the international meetings industry, particularly for high profile global events under intense media scrutiny like COP24, the World Economic Forum and the UN Climate Change Conference. But does the sector itself have the answers, and how is it approaching the problem? From Association Meetings International…
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 latest Meetings Market Survey from the Professional Convention Management Association has revealed a growth in meeting attendance with a further rise expected next year. Considered to be a barometer for the industry, the survey found attendance for 2018 up five percent. It had risen by 3.6 percent in 2017. From Association Meetings International…
Prague in the Czech Republic is not only a major meetings destination, but also home of the AIM Group International office of Bob Novak. Novak has written a white paper, “How to Create a Truly Unique Destination Experience and the Latest DMC Trends”, which discusses the current evolution of destination management companies. From PCMA…
Manchester Central saw 31 percent growth in exhibition revenue during 2018, thanks to a rise in the total number of shows hosted (37) and a repeat rate of 86 percent from 2017. High-profile new events included The Northern Business Exhibition. Repeat clients included IP EXPO. 2018 also saw investment in new facilities. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
London and Paris are collaborating to offer a range of travel products aimed at North American incentive buyers. Specialised itineraries of the two-in-one incentive trip have been created allowing delegates to experience new cultural attractions, restaurants and hotels in both capital cities. This includes an official partnership with Eurostar. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
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