The decisive general election result back in December gave a boost to UK marketing expenditure during the final quarter of 2019, according to the IPA Bellwether Report. Cuts to event marketing were seen over Q3 and Q4, but the report is optimistic about the sector for 2020 and 2021. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
UK Universities hosting conferences can expect to boost annual sales by around £2 million. So says a recent survey by CUBO, an association of university business officers. The figures released at CUBO’s Winter Conference at Edinburgh University show average income levels up by eleven percent against 2018. Photo: Alljengi. From Association Meetings International…
The Iceberg doesn’t usually focus on the activities of individual agencies working across the meetings and events sector. But it is hard not to notice one founded at the same time as our very own little platform celebrating business event legacy, particularly when that agency is actually called “Legacy”. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
With a scientific consensus that we are already in a full-blown climate crisis, events are under widespread scrutiny for environmental impact. So are meetings now in a state of emergency? German Convention Bureau Director Matthias Schultze, UFI CEO Kai Hattendorf and Iceberg Founder James Latham are among the sector voices canvassed. From EventMB…
According to Jim Sharpe, the new CEO of Aventri, event technology is now far easier to use. Whether it’s using a WhatsApp group to stay in contact with event planners, or automating reporting to capture meeting metrics, technology is not only impacting carbon footprint but also changing and upskilling teams. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Iceberg is now identifying and celebrating the greater mass of hard-to-see business events legacies that lie hidden beneath the surface in a new podcast “Below the Waterline”. In the fourth of a series featuring significant meetings industry players, Iceberg founder James Latham catches up with BestCities Global Alliance Director of International Associations Jane Cunningham…
ICCA, the International Congress and Convention Association, has officially opened the doors of its Association Community. Now association executives can join the Iceberg partner’s membership of convention centres, destination marketing organisations (DMOs) and professional congress organisers (PCOs). From Association Meetings International…
The number of corporate travel buyers forecasting bigger budgets for 2020 is now at a five-year high, according to annual research from the Business Travel Show. 41 percent of buyers said they would have more money to spend on travel in 2020, a rise from 33 percent last year. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Industry mega-gathering Convening Leaders has just taken place in San Francisco’s Moscone Center. The organiser PCMA, the Professional Convention Management Association, gave details of its flagship event’s impact at a press conference, just after the signing of a partnership with the Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau. From PCMA…
The teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg may have grabbed more headlines, but meetings and events leaders also got to address some of the biggest sustainability challenges facing the industry during a panel debate at UN Climate Conference COP25 in Madrid. Article includes full video from the session. From Association Meetings International…
Sustainability is high on the events industry agenda. COP25’s Events Industry Council panel discussed vegan menus, recyclable cups and refillable bottles. Britain’s Brexit is shaking up supply chains and may encourage local sourcing. Iceberg partner Positive Impact is engaging the industry in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Last December Mariela McIlwraith, Director of Industry Advancement at the Events Industry Council, went to the UN Climate Conference COP25 in Madrid. There she took part in a panel discussion on the role of the meetings sector in bringing people together to act on climate. From the Events Industry Council…
Events always mirror society, and major trends like globalisation have transformed the meetings sector in recent years. At the dawn of a new decade, German Convention Bureau MD Matthias Schultze looks at which trends we should follow, including sustainability and new borderless multisite meeting formats. From Matthias Schultze via LinkedIn…
Denmark has brought together its four largest meetings cities to launch a report on how to make international conventions more impactful for both associations and destinations. The starting point was a trawl of 500 publications globally on the topic, to collect the scattered legacy-driving content in one guidebook. From Boardroom…
Iceberg partner GDS-Index (the Global Destination Sustainability Index) and EarthCheck have signed an alliance to develop then launch special certification and services for business tourism, event and meeting cities. The goal is to let destinations become sustainable and healthy places to visit, meet in and live in. From Boardroom…
Business Events Sarawak at Sarawak Convention Bureau has announced that the Malaysian state has made history by securing its highest number of bid wins to date. The news was broken at the annual BESarawak Appreciation Dinner. Legacy Impact Assessment has counted 965 potential benefits from these 76 events for Sarawak. From Meetings International…
Industry experts from right across the sector have participated in a roundtable about the legacies of business events. The QEII Centre discussion covered the international impact of meetings, the recognition they receive and ways true legacy can be measured. The event also followed an economic study of the venue from Grant Thornton. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The UK General Election has just given Prime Minister Boris Johnson a decisive mandate to “get Brexit done”. During the hustings, BVEP (the Business Visits and Events Partnership) also published its own campaign, “Events Deliver Growth, Jobs and Opportunities. A Manifesto for Britain’s Events Industry”. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Meeting venues are facing increasing event acquisition, property and staff costs and competition from new venues. Planners are having to reconcile rising venue and travel costs with their flat budgets. Both groups are embracing technology in solving these challenges. Carl Law is a Development Manager at Capita Travel and Events. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
2019 is drawing to a close. As we enter a new decade, the world now seems less stable and facing further disruption. Global association of the exhibition industry, UFI, has as per every year been tracking sector developments around the world. Here are five key trends the Iceberg partner has noted. From Kai Hattendorf via LinkedIn…
In what way does the purpose of DMCs (Destination Management Companies) change in a market disrupted by the Internet? What happens when the core value proposition of “local knowledge, expertise and connections” is accessible, sometimes more efficiently and affordably, via other platforms? From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
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