Good HR practice within the meetings and events industry – navigating today’s challenges
Next in our series of guest editors, we'd like to introduce HR expert Kate Goodman, a member of the CIPD and a Mental Health First...
IBTM World 100k connections, isla’s venue net zero guide, and more.
This Monday’s Insights (05 December) feature brings you IBTM World 100k connections, isla’s venue net zero guide, Skift Meetings State of Business Events report, and more.
Headlines
IBTM World 2022 made 100,000 connections
IBTM World, which this year explored the connection between events and culture, closed on 1 December 2022 with over 100,000 business meetings having taken place and over 10,000 attendees gathering in Barcelona for the three days of the event.
IBTM World 2022 investigated how the technology we use, the experiences we create, and the destinations we visit create limitless cultures for businesses and incredible potential for events.
Over 2,200 exhibiting companies from 150 countries around the world were in attendance, including the CVBs of Spain, Ireland, Brussels, Croatia, The Czech Republic, Canada, Malaysia, Jordan, Bahrain, Canada, Miami, Las Vegas and Boston, as well as Meliá Hotels and Barceló Hotels.
During the event, IBTM announced that it has signed a new three-year contract with Barcelona Convention Bureau and Fira de Barcelona that will see IBTM World take place in the city up to and including the 2025 edition. The new contract builds on the existing 18-year relationship between the three organisations, with the next edition confirmed at Fira Gran Via for 28 – 30 November 2023.
Commenting on the close of the event, David Thompson, IBTM World Event Director, said: “IBTM World 2022 has been a fantastic success, surpassing all our expectations with more quality one-to-one business meetings taking place per attendee than in 2019. It was brilliant to receive feedback on the show floor that there is so much appetite for doing business that many exhibitors and buyers have already scheduled additional meetings to take place in the coming weeks. There has been a real sense of excitement and we look forward to returning to Barcelona in 2023.”
isla has launched a guide to support meetings and event venues in the transition to Net Zero.
According to Conference News, the events industry sustainability body’s guide, Sustainability in Practice: A Pathway for Venues, encourages venues to review their sustainability progress, develop short to mid-term sustainability goals and set a “realistic but ambitious” aspiration to reach Net Zero by 2050 at the latest.
The guide, created in partnership with VisitBritain Business Events and supported by the Association of Event Venues (AEV), the Meetings Industry Association (mia) and beam, looks at how venues can develop a sustainability strategy covering five areas: company operations; commitments and communications; event deliveries; measurement and reporting; and value chain engagement.
Read more and download the guide via Conference News.
Skift Meetings State of Business Events report examines the current state of the industry, with an eye on what lies ahead in 2023. Some results may seem surprising!
According to Skift Meetings, the report’s top trends include event teams being being stretched thin, and location sourcing more focused on no-flight or direct-flight destinations, and sustainability is ‘not a top priority’.
Check out the full report via Skift Meetings and let us know what you think!
IACC Announces Strategic Alliance with MPI
IACC has agreed terms for a strategic partnership with MPI, the largest global meetings and events industry association. The alliance will see the two organisations working to advance the global events community using shared knowledge and connected intelligence.
The partnership engages on multiple platforms with MPI’s diverse and substantial network of more than 90,000 meeting and event professionals across 70 chapters to promote the world’s best meeting venues and bring together the brightest industry minds.
The MPI partnership reinforces IACC’s commitment to supporting every one of its 400 member venues with advanced research and resources as well as prime networking opportunities.
IACC and MPI will collaborate on a number of initiatives including thought leadership discussions as well as the creation of content and campaigns that reinforce equity, diversity, inclusion, and wellness as key components to a successful sector. Together, the organisations will share education at their live events and develop online learning platforms to deliver rich resources in the form of blogs, webinars, and best practice briefings.
Parlez vous…English?
The multifaceted case for multilingualism is the subject of a recent feature on amimagazine.global.
According to Martin Sirk who authored the piece, ‘the reality facing conference organisers is that the provision at international events of languages other than English has been slipping away for decades, reserved for a few formal set-piece occasions and the least number of languages that protocol demands.’
Double Take
Union of International Associations releases report on International Meetings Issues
During 2022 the Union of International Associations had undertaken its tenth large-scale survey on issues encountered by international organisations and associations when holding meetings.
This year the questions were again adjusted to focus on the ongoing impact of the pandemic on association meetings activity. The closing section of the report features additional comments offered by the associations on issues related to organizing international conferences under pandemic conditions.
The COVID 19 pandemic has a tremendous impact on the global travel and meetings industry and on the meetings behaviour of international associations. This special UIA Survey 2022 – COVID 19 Impact on International Association Meetings focuses on the changed approach of associations, when planning and organising their international events.
