Over 440,000 conferences and meetings worth £4.9 billion took place across the UK in 2021, after just 195,000 in 2020, new research has revealed. The direct expenditure in venues and destinations was £1.7 billion in 2020 and £17.6 billion in 2019. 45 percent of venues expect business to recover by 2023. From Conference News…
The US Supreme Court ruling that lifted constitutional protections for access to abortion services has now prompted calls for scientific events to boycott states that have banned or severely restricted services. At least one organisation has already moved a meeting out of Louisiana over the issue of abortion rights. Photo: Ted Eytan. From Nature…
Over a hundred parties made a pledge at COP26 to reduce the carbon emissions created by the events industry. The coalition has doubled in size since that time. Kai Hattendorf, the President of Iceberg partner UFI and former Chair of the Joint Meetings Industry Council (which presents The Iceberg), helped make it happen. From PCMA…
International conferences are the most carbon-intensive activity for associations. Here five sustainability experts answer twenty fundamental questions to let organisations begin their journey towards net zero and assess their progress along the way. Included are views from Iceberg partners GDS-Index and Positive Impact. From Association Meetings International…
Jaimé Bennett, PCMA’s Regional Director of EMEA, was taken on a tour during her site visit to Vienna earlier this year. The aim was to find places Convening EMEA participants could explore during the meeting. One was a café which helps older residents augment their pensions and social lives through baking. From PCMA…
The UK has experienced red weather warnings and unprecedented high temperatures of late, with services shut down and events postponed. Europe and the United States have also suffered. Liz Taylor, the CEO of event management firm the Taylor Lynn Corporation, has sweated over the best solutions to keep delegates cool. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
On the back of a flash survey, Editor James Lancaster talks with Loren Edelstein, VP Content Director at Northstar Meetings Group, about how the US Supreme Court’s about turn on Roe v. Wade could inflence where international associations meet, and whether organisations should be being political about site selection. Photo: Ted Eytan. From Association Meetings International…
Carina Bauer, CEO of Iceberg partner IMEX Group, has been talking about her organisation’s Green Squad and its sustainability impact. The Squad was set up in 2017 to collect the sustainability champions within IMEX and share initiatives across the business. The Group has also signed the sector’s Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge. From Conference News…
During the pandemic, uncertainty was a daily torment for association meeting planners. With the threat of lockdown ended in most countries, the market is approaching business pre-pandemic. But organisers are also caught between a labour and skills crisis plus rocketing inflation. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
The Editorial Director Martin Fullard recently visited Scotland to find out how important business events are to the region. He talked to some of the country’s leading eventprofs, learning about VisitScotland’s new and improved “Policy Driven Model”, its “Journey to Change” project, and how universities are helping to bring in business events. From Conference News…
The first IMEX in Frankfurt since 2019 was marked by an outrush of camaraderie, celebration, and most importantly, business. The Iceberg partner CEO Carina Bauer hailed a succcessful show and said that the future looks bright for the industry, while also acknowledging that the current business climate is rather challenging. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has announced that the city-state is to join Iceberg partner GDS-Index (Global Destination Sustainability Index). As a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council since 2021, the city supports sustainable practices in large venues such as Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands. From Boardroom…
New GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) research has collected industry and external stakeholder insights to benchmark perceptions, priorities and actionable opportunity for more sustainable business travel. Barriers to making business travel more sustainable include higher costs, limited data, and lack of access to information. From Meetings International…
Two-thirds of venues say they will recover to 2019 revenue levels in either 2022 or 2023. So reports international venue association IACC’s annual Meeting Room of the Future Barometer 2022. Predictions did differ by country, with Denmark projected to surpass 2019 by 2022 but the Americas by 2024. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Venue ICC Belfast has hosted the Microbiology Society Conference, an event anticipated to kickstart its target of generating a £125 million economic impact for the province. The conference is the first of three international events being held at ICC Belfast this year, estimated to together deliver £5 million impact. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Tourism and convention bureau Destination Vancouver has teamed up with local Capilano University to research the legacy of international conferences held in the city. A team of researchers will study five events held in Vancouver later this year and deliver findings to local stakeholders and to Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance. From Association Meetings International…
There is a huge disconnect between “sustainability” and what it will take for real change. Generation Z is passionate about reversing the climate crisis through individual means. This shift of mindset was also the topic of a past report for business events, The Regenerative Revolution, published by Iceberg partner IMEX Group and Marriott International. From PCMA…
In the heat of the pandemic, meeting tech evangelists were hailing the switch to virtual as a transformational moment, rather than a practical necessity. It was always odds on that most would return to meeting in person once the worst was over. So, is the new normal the same old normal? From Association Meetings International…
Fresh off the back of taking her first incentive trip since the start of the pandemic, agency Eventful’s Head of Incentives Holly Mills shares the changes she has witnessed in the industry and the trends that are going to shape the future of the category, including replacing that word “incentive”. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
IMEX in Frankfurt will finally open its 20th anniversary edition to the meetings industry on May 31st. In a multi-video preview of the Iceberg partner show, Natasha Richards of IMEX looks at the high-level IMEX Policy Forum 2022, plus Martin Sirk of Sirk Serendipity discusses multiple issues facing associations after the COVID-19 pandemic. IMEX Policy…
Two years into the global COVID pandemic, with much of the world’s population vaccinated against the disease, policymakers around the world are faced with the challenge of stimulating and managing their societies and economies. As COVID-related restrictions are rolled back and lifted, policy priorities are shifting. Business events will be a key driver of this…
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