The £260 million Gateshead Quays will create more than 1,000 new jobs for the UK’s North East. The development, to be completed by 2023, has 6,300 square metres of exhibition space and 2,800 square metres of meeting rooms. There are also hotels, a performance area, and offsite parking. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
An estimated £20 billion of direct expenditure was generated by event delegates across UK venues and wider in 2018, according to the latest UK Conference and Meeting Survey. The figure is up from £18.1 billion in 2017. The overall number of events held in 2018 was the highest in recent years. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
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…
Sheffield has welcomed over 200 international delegates to the first ever International Child and Adolescent Knee Congress. The two-day meeting was organised by local ambassadors and orthopaedic surgeons Nick Nicolaou and Fazal Ali. Delivering about £250,000 in economic impact to the city, the event is set to remain in Sheffield long-term. From Association Meetings International…
Food waste is a major concern for more than six of every ten meeting planners, according to the IACC annual Meeting Room of the Future report 2019. The survey also shows that 44 percent believe ethical operations and sustainable practice will be crucial for venues by 2024. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Professor Eileen Murphy, head of Archaeology and Palaeoecology at Queen’s University Belfast, helped secure the European Association of Archaeology’s annual conference for the city in 2022. A Northern Ireland Ambassador, Murphy worked with the convention bureau at Visit Belfast in bidding for the meeting, expected to generate £3.8 million for city coffers. From Association Meetings International…
The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau has launched a “Meet Special Bonus” to secure more major events. The bonus of THB 50,000 ($1,628) is for planners holding an event with at least 100 international delegates staying for least three nights and using a venue recognised by the Thailand MICE Venue Standard. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
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…
The African Society of Association Executives has created a training legacy for African associations. Eighty-nine professionals and nonprofit managers in Rwanda, Kenya and Nigeria successfully completed its certificate course in association management. Gregg Talley of Iceberg partner Talley Management Group and AfSAE President Jeffers Miruka facilitated the training. From Boardroom…
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…
For destinations with industrial roots that have since evolved into innovation-based economies, showcasing a revamped identity not only helps to correct outdated perceptions but is also key to drawing in the right groups, for instance associations. Former Rust Belt cities Cleveland, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Cincinnati have all reinvented their economies. From PCMA…
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