Looking to hold a virtual conference to remember? What can you do to spice things up? Here are five rather unusual ideas for injecting fun into the mix, from sharing some musical experiences with karaoke or kazoos to the nonprofit animal sanctuary running a service called (I kid you not) “Goat-2-Meeting”. From Associations Now…
COVID-19 has slammed the brakes on the international expansion of associations, their big conferences having been essential to delivering such goals prior to the pandemic. International Advisor Martin Sirk, of Iceberg partner Global Association Hubs, says that association-friendly regional destinations are the answer. From Boardroom…
The first Exhibitions Think Tank has launched a report gathering insights from over 150 sector professionals and setting out ideas for the future of the global industry. Two surveys plus close to 100 online sessions have culminated in a resource that will support the sector adapting to future changes. From Exhibition News…
Iceberg partner AIPC has recently published two video perspectives about how business events are now evolving. ICCA President and ExCeL London Executive Director James Rees (pictured) talks to IMEX CEO Carina Bauer. ICCA and IMEX are also Iceberg partners. The second feature is on the Shenzhen World Exhibition and Convention Center. From AIPC…
The 59th ICCA Congress in Kaohsiung is to showcase a unique and hybrid hub-and-spoke model, with regional events across the globe coinciding with the main congress and sharing the experience for those unable to attend it. The locations include the main host destination, along with Kuching, Cape Town, Luxembourg, Malaga and Riyadh. An all-virtual option is…
As authorities around the world are increasingly clearing business events to run again, organisers of conventions and exhibitions, as well as venue and centre operators need to put respective measures in place that create safe environments for participants. A new guide on the matter identifies and promotes globally emerging standards, protocols and good practices. Good…
After reader input, latest COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard survey has changed the wording “cannibalise face-to-face attendance” to “impact face-to-face attendance” in the survey questions. Both planners and suppliers expect digital tech will have a greater impact throughout the rest of this year: an average of 57 percent in August versus an average of 47 percent in…
This white paper from Iceberg partner Positive Impact Events has been written to engage with CEOs, corporate heads of sustainability, global government staff, United Nations event organisers, association CEOs and corporate heads of events, plus any others in action innovating around the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It explains why the event industry is best-placed to…
Iceberg partner IMEX Group has donated $250,000 to MPI to help members facing financial hardship as a result of the pandemic. The MPI Foundation will receive most of the money, to direct funds to distressed members, with the balance going to eleven European chapters to assist the events industry to recover. From Association Meetings International…
Iceberg partner UFI, the global association of the exhibition sector, and research compiler Explori have released latest findings from their “Global Recovery Project”. Visitors and exhibitors significantly prefer live events to digital (by 83 percent and 77 percent). Only 13 percent of exhibitors have sponsored online third-party events. From Exhibition World…
The hybrid multi-site event BOCOM saw players from across Germany’s meetings industry demonstrating readiness for future event formats. Several hundred participants met on-site at the central conference venue in Berlin and at the hubs in Amsterdam, Essen and Vienna, as well as virtually from all continents. From GCB…
The pandemic is forcing so many sectors to rethink how they operate, including business events. So PCMA, the 7,000-member association for the industry, collaborated with the National Speakers Association and also the International Association of Speakers Bureaus on a virtual event addressing new business models. From Forbes…
The Bulb, a UK-based sustainable event consultancy, has released a guide to help meeting organisers to navigate the “new normal” and make sure the progress made in creating a sustainable industry is not lost. The increase in need for PPE (personal protective equipment) has seen a rise in plastic pollution. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
While some associations are adapting quicker than others, there remains a general misconception on what is a virtual event. Is it anything as simple as a giant Zoom call, or does it entail more than that? Can simply renting a platform solve everything? What is the role now of event planners? Creating a virtual congress is as…
Earlier this year, the Incentive Research Foundation published the results of a pulse survey fielded between April 2nd and April 16th COVID-19’s Impact on the Incentive Travel Industry (April 2020). Given the continued challenges for the industry related to the pandemic, IRF fielded a study between July 1st and July 15th, 2020 to understand the…
As part of the #aNewTomorrow initiative, Iceberg partner ECM (European Cities Marketing) invited ten Long Thinkers – experts in their fields, industry influencers and purposeful changemakers – to look further ahead, beyond thee crisis and towards a New Tomorrow for tourism and destinations. These are now all compiled in this catalogue and shared anew. A…
The winner of the IMEX-EIC (Events Industry Council) 2020 Innovation in Sustainability Award is GDS-Index, a benchmarking and performance improvement programme for business tourism and events destinations,. IMEX, an Iceberg partner like GDS-Movement, will celebrate the award in May 2021. From Conference & Meetings World…
Two-thirds of those who exhibit at business events say their absence has had a notable and detrimental impact on business. So says a study of the recovery of trade shows from research specialists Explori together with Iceberg partner UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry. From Exhibition World…
International association meetings, particularly those that are attracting thousands of delegates, were once the prized targets of all convention bureaux. COVID-19 has made the immediate future smaller and more regional. But this trend was already underway and should not frighten destination marketing organisations. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
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