1 HR AGO - Making a positive impact through adopting strong social practices and running ethical meeting venue operations will be the key area of focus for venues and planners by 2025, international venue assciation IACC’s Meeting Room of the Future 2020 report has revealed. The report was conducted ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic and focuses on the 12 months leading up to February 2020. It also includes forward predictions from IACC and survey responses on how the meetings landscape and attendee behaviours may change in a post-Covid market. The report reveals that 74% of meeting venue operators see corporate social responsibility and ethical operations as a ‘top priority’ in the next 12 months. Forward predications suggest that the industry will have a “greater understanding of the value and importance of social contributions”. The report also cites the growing number of millennials joining the global workforce as a “major change”. Millennials are the Collapse

23 HRS AGO - Queensland Treasurer, the Hon. Cameron Dick, has announced the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC) can reopen in August 2020, following the approval by Queensland Health of its Site Specific Covid Safe Plan. Dick called the reopening of the BCEC a ‘significant milestone’ for Queensland. He said: “As we unite and recover from the pandemic, it’s cause for celebration that we can welcome staff and visitors back to this outstanding venue.” BCEC’s Plan is integrated with VenueShield, a new environmental hygiene protocol developed by BCEC’s parent group, ASM Global and rolled out at ASM Global’s 325 venues worldwide. The Centre is planning to host its first events from August 2020. BCEC has said that the health and wellbeing of its clients, patrons and staff is a ‘top priority’. A newly developed BCEC Safe Event Guideline has been prepared and will assist clients in planning their events at the Centre. The guidelines encompass all Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - During the course of the week of 22-26 June 2020, both the Exhibition and Event Association of Southern Africa (EXSA) and the African Association of Exhibition Organisers (AAXO) announced new leadership for their 2019/2020 term. EXSA hosted a virtual Annual General Meeting on 22 June with the following industry stakeholders on the board for the... Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - Canada’s Industry Training Authority (ITA) and the Vancouver Convention Centre (VCC) are set to again stage exams for skilled trades professionals in British Columbia (BC). The news provides a welcome fillip for the local economy. Six hundred skilled trades apprentices are expected to take exams in the centre over the course of the summer now that the examination process is able to resume, having been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The ITA exams will serve as one of the first events held at the VCC as the facility resumes operations within safety guidelines set by British Columbia’s Provincial Health Officer. Each exam session will accommodate up to 10 apprentices, who are taking their Certificate of Qualification and Interprovincial exams. Over the summer, ITA expects to support up to 600 apprentices who currently aren’t able to write exams in their regular location, due to physical distancing restrictions. “I am happy to see the collaborative effort by the ITA and the VCC Collapse

5 DAYS AGO - International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney), Australia, has announced the launch of a new hybrid on-site and virtual event solution. The new solution will allow clients to host more than 300 people at the venue in accordance with social distancing measures, while also live streaming to an unlimited number of remote attendees. Following the Covid-19 outbreak, ICC Sydney developed a virtual events service which has allowed the venue host multiple events over the past three months. These included the Meetings and Events Australia 2019 National Awards, Stand Tall 2020, and various community and government events. To deliver the dual model, ICC Sydney has added new technology into its new hybrid spaces, including projection screens, entertainment lighting and PA systems. This set up will allow both attendees in the rooms and guests located remotely to experience the event in the same way. CEO of ICC Sydney, Geoff Donaghy, said: “Covid-19 has meant that as a business we have had to Collapse

5 DAYS AGO -   In this episode AXICA’s Mark Felstead leads us to discover how Berlin’s hotel scene has been trying to cope with the corona crisis and we hear about some of the innovative ideas the city’s hotel managers have been dreaming up to raise both revenues and the spirits of their staff. Amid all the community spirit on show, we should remember there have been many heart rendering stories of lifelong hoteliers having to close their properties. This podcast also explores the challenges of keeping your furloughed staff motivated and listeners will hear also how students are literally saving the day for one hotel, where legend of the Berlin hotel scene and hotel director, Philip Ibrahim (pictured on his bike), is steering the ship to keep it and its staff’s heads above water. Check it out, The Student Hotel, part of an exciting and innovative chain. Berlin is a city forged in times of trial with many businesses in survival mode. The city is also showing its creativity in adversity and Collapse

6 DAYS AGO - A 500-metre-long table on Charles Bridge in Prague was the focus of celebrations on 1 July, as thousands of Czechs partied without any social-distancing measures. They were taking part in an event organised to ‘symbolically’ say farewell to the coronavirus. The event, involving music and food brought from home, was held despite a background of continued warnings from the World Health Organisation that the global pandemic is far from over. There have been fewer than 12,000 coronavirus infections recorded in the Czech Republic, however, and around 350 related deaths. Spaces had to be reserved in advance for the party on the bridge, a location usually swarming with tourists. Ondrej Kobza, event organiser, told the AFP news agency: “We want to celebrate the end of the coronavirus crisis by letting people meet and show they are not afraid to meet, that they are not afraid to take a piece of a sandwich from their neighbour.” Kobza added: “Society mustn’t be afraid. Otherwise, we’ll have an Collapse

7 DAYS AGO - The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) has announced that it will extend its Covid-19 Recovery Dashboard research initiative from 30 June, with the initiative expanding into the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. Since March, PCMA have been conducting industry-wide surveys among the global business events community every two weeks in order to document and analyse the growing impacts of Covid-19 on the sector. Karen Bolinger (pictured), managing director of PCMA APAC, said: “Whilst there have been various surveys go out in parts of the APAC region, none have provided a full view of Asia Pacific as a standalone region. This edition of the Covid-19 Recovery Dashboard will invite many APAC businesses and individuals in the business events community to contribute. “We all need to get an accurate picture of what is occurring, so we can then collectively determine recovery strategies for planners and suppliers going forward. “I encourage everyone to put 10 minutes aside to take Collapse

30/06/2020 - The mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, has said supporting events is critical to the success of the Northern UK city. In 2019, Marketing Manchester unveiled a five-year strategy which targets 40% growth, adding £345m to the city’s existing business tourism value of £862m (according to figures taken from 2017). This would be mainly driven by an increase in conference, meetings and exhibition business. Addressing the Institute of Event Management’s inaugural online summit, mayor Burnham expressed his belief that the events industry is a vital component of the Greater Manchester economy, and that he would be making the case to central Government to ensure extended support measures are provided to safeguard the sector. In a pre-recorded keynote, mayor Burnham said: “As a city we pride ourselves on the calibre of events we host. Getting the events industry back up and running is crucial, because we need to bring people back into the city, and back into our towns to support the economy; Collapse