What will the meetings industry look like in 2029? New tech, spiralling travel costs, legislation about the environment and “flight guilt” will transform the sector. The industry will still thrive. The need to “meet” will not go away. But “meeting” will more often be through a screen. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
Festivalisation refers to a process of making existing meeting structures more engaging, more immersive, and more tailored to the individual. The word is everywhere and may sound like a gimmick, but there’s a serious side to it, which might determine whether your congress lives to see another ten years. From Association Meetings International…
Taiwan is now one of its region’s most dynamic economies, with industry specialties including IT, telecommunications and semiconductors. Government-driven and foreign investment assists Taiwanese firms venturing into areas like artificial intelligence, blockchain, fifth-generation telecoms, gaming, Internet of Things (IoT) and virtual reality. The sector is also attracting meetings. From Boardroom…
The UK’s first-ever tourism sector deal is set to deliver a focussed new government strategy to grow the country’s conferences and meetings. It has created plans for identifying business events it might support, with separate criteria for attracting events to the UK, growing existing meetings and creating new ones. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
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…
Dr Lance O’Sullivan certainly knows the power of conferences. Aged 17, the twice-expelled disruptive child from a deprived background was taken to a Māori medicine meeting by his aunt. A smart and charismatic doctor speaking there captured the teenager’s attention and started his career path as healthcare innovator. From Association Meetings International…
A year ago Amsterdam hosted the 22nd International Aids Conference. A visual “dressing” campaign made the meeting very hard to miss in and around the city. Holland may be a compact in size as a conference destination, but it packs a punch when it comes to its knowledge infrastructure and congress capabilities. From Boardroom…
During Meetings Africa 2019 held recently in Johannesburg, a noticeable change of tone was detected in the young doctors and scientists attending the Association Day presented by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). It was a clear message to established medical association leaders that “Madiba’s Children” have arrived with legacy in their hearts. One…
Africa’s Travel Indaba, hosted again at the Durban ICC, has attracted over 1,000 exhibitors and 1,500 buyers, as well as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (centre). The event was organised around greening principles in evidence throughout the three days, which included introducing Meetings Africa’s Green Stand Award for the most sustainable exhibitor. From the Event…
Professionals from right across the business events industry have been honoured in Frankfurt at the IMEX Gala Dinner. The 2019 JMIC Unity Award went to Joachim König, Director of Hannover Congress Centrum. Emile Coetzee from North-West University in South Africa won the MPI Foundation / Maritz Global Events Student Scholarship Award. From the Event…
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…
Elliott L. Ferguson II, President and CEO of Washington DC’s official marketing organisation Destination DC, has been talking “connected capital”, inclusion and positive impact at IMEX in Frankfurt. His themes included which knowledge sectors the district is targeting, the legacies its meetings are leaving in their wake, and issues of diversity. From Boardroom…
The head of tourism association Destinations International says his organisation spends a lot of its energy and resources doing battle with politicians around the world on behalf of members facing financial and legislative challenges. CEO Don Welch was speaking out at IMEX about issues like “over-tourism” and womens’ and LGBTQ rights. From Association Meetings International…
A recent trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, including both The Iceberg and its partner Boardroom, revealed a lot about this emerging conference destination. In this second video from the Jalisco state capital we hear discussed two key sectors earmarked for growth – high tech and creative – and the role of events in shaping that legacy. From Boardroom…
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…
The International Glaciological Society’s British branch has announced it will be holding its annual meeting this September in NewcastleGateshead. Hosted by research leader Northumbria University, the conference will attract around 100 delegates to the region to discuss the pressing issue of climate change, including a collaborative US-UK research project underway in the Antarctic. From Boardroom…
The University of Warwick has won a bid to plan, organise and host the 18th International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists in 2020. Held every three years, ICWES is the world’s largest symposium for women scientists and engineers and will attract to the college about 500 international delegates. From Association Meetings International…
Birmingham’s strengths in medicine have been confirmed with the city’s ICC securing five sector association congresses in just three weeks. The venue also posted growth of 25 percent for the fiscal year across all association and corporate clients. Greater Birmingham is positioning itself as a life sciences knowledge hub. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
Collision 2019 is ostensibly a startup show, with nearly 1,100 fledgling companies, 26,000 attendees, and conference tracks for pitching venture capitalists called “Growth Summit,” “MoneyConf,” and, simply, “PITCH.” But another conference theme quietly linked the VC guys in slick suits, with the fintech startups, AI companies and data scientists: fixing the world. From Digital Trends…
A recent trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, including both The Iceberg and its partner Boardroom, revealed a lot about this emerging conference destination. Also visiting the Jalisco state capital and life sciences hub of Latin America was Professor Bettina Borisch, Executive Director of the World Federation of Public Health Associations. From Boardroom…
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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