IBTM Success, CHS Leeds Welfare Theme, 25 Years of Visit Belfast, Greengage Acquisition, MIA Survey Results and more…

This month’s news round-up brings you industry and association news and views from November 2024, including  IBTM success, CHS Leeds Welfare Theme, 25 Years of Visit Belfast, Greengage Acquisition, MIA Survey Results and more.

IBTM World celebrates 20th edition in Barcelona

IBTM World celebrated its 20th anniversary in Barcelona with over 73,000 pre-scheduled business meetings, marking a nearly 20% increase from 2023. The event also saw a 10% rise in total visitors and an 18% increase in hosted buyers from over 120 countries, engaging with more than 2,350 exhibitors.

Claudia Hall, IBTM World exhibition director, said: “It’s been an absolutely thrilling three days, not least because we were celebrating a very special 20th anniversary in Barcelona, which only enhanced the feeling of camaraderie and togetherness.

“As they do every year, our wonderful IBTM World community arrived with a thirst for knowledge, a hunger for opportunities, and an enthusiasm to make connections that will take the global events industry from strength to strength.

“Our show didn’t disappoint. Between the phenomenal speakers with their captivating insights and ideas, our passionate exhibitors eager to engage, and the imaginative new initiatives designed to provide targeted and tangible support, it’s been an incredible gathering that reminds me just what a community we are in the events industry and how much we have to offer the world as a sector.”

Highlights from the event included keynotes such as Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson discussing empowerment and inclusivity, Simone Heng on developing meaningful relationships, and Julius Solaris with a panel exploring human-centric experiences in a tech-driven world.

Read more via M&IT Magazine.

CHS launches Leeds theme following Birmingham success

CHS has announced the theme for CHS Leeds 2025, which will focus on Welfare. This theme reflects the core values of CHS Leeds since its launch 14 years ago, emphasizing productive and empathetic environments for business. Based on feedback from event planners in 2024, the theme will address key topics such as delegate welfare, event planner care, and security, with an education programme packed with relevant content.

The announcement follows the success of CHS Birmingham, where pre-arranged meetings increased by 16% compared to the previous year, and strong networking relationships were built. Speaking about the event, CEO and Founder Emma King expressed gratitude for the energy brought by exhibitors and buyers, describing the show as focused on growth since 2021.

CHS Leeds will take place at Royal Armouries, Leeds, 25^th March 2025.

Read more at CHS.

Visit Belfast marks 25 years of transformation and growth

Visit Belfast, the city’s destination marketing and management organisation, celebrated its 25th anniversary, marking Belfast’s transformation into a leading international tourist destination. Once considered one of the four “B’s” to avoid (alongside Beirut, Baghdad, and Bosnia), Belfast has experienced record tourism growth thanks to changing perceptions and significant investment.

Founded in 1999 as the Belfast Visitor & Convention Bureau, the city began with just 600 hotel rooms, 400,000 visitors, and £80 million in local economic impact. By 2023, it had expanded to 5,000 hotel rooms, 1.7 million overnight visitors, 159 cruise ships, and 100 conference events, contributing £539 million to the local economy—nearly 45% of Northern Ireland’s tourism impact.

Congratulating Visit Belfast on its achievements over 25 years, Belfast Lord Mayor, councillor Micky Murray, said:

“Tourism powers growth and investment, enhances our outlook and drives our local economy. As a small, unique and compact city that’s famed for the warmth of our welcome, Belfast packs a punch – and its success can firmly be attributed to the hard work, partnership working and sheer determination of Visit Belfast’s colleagues, members, partners and stakeholders who work so closely together to seize opportunities while also navigating challenges.”

Few countries worldwide have pulled off such an unprecedented tourism transformation as Belfast became one of the world’s leading, most celebrated and award-winning city destinations which now attracts millions of leisure, business and cruise visitors every year.

Read more.

EDGE Venues launches EDGE Corporate

EDGE Venues has launched EDGE Corporate, a new venue-finding platform designed to meet the needs of corporate event planners.

EDGE Corporate aims to streamline the event planning process and set a new standard for venue finding in the corporate world.

Jacqui Kavanagh, CEO and founder of EDGE Venues, said:

“EDGE Corporate is more than just a venue-finding tool; it is a solution designed to support all aspects of venue procurement in corporate event planning.

“Whether you are managing global conferences, board meetings or product launches, it’s all about your teams being able to be creative in their venue sourcing whilst controlling the venue finding process. EDGE Corporate provides unmatched productivity and savings for procurement teams; enhanced efficiency for EAs and decision makers; and creativity and flexibility, allowing planners to explore a range of venues.

“Unlike other platforms, EDGE Corporate is designed with a personal touch – putting the human element back into the technology-driven world of event planning. We understand that planners and procurement teams don’t want to feel like just a number. That’s why we’ve built a platform that is reactive, fluid, and highly personalised.”

Read full story at EDGEvenues.com

Greengage acquires Responsible Futures

Greengage, UK-based environmental and sustainability consultancy dedicated to assisting organisations in adopting sustainable practices, has acquired Responsible Futures.

In addition to being B Corp certified, Greengage offer the CO2 Toolkit, a comprehensive set of tools designed to streamline the complex process of carbon footprint measurement and reporting.

As part of the deal, Responsible Futures will be absorbed into the Greengage 360 consulting division, with founder and CEO Sam Cande as consultancy director.

Andrew Perolls, CEO and founder of Greengage Solutions, said:

“Under her guidance, our 360 consulting division will offer an even more compelling proposition, adding expertise and resources to meet the increasing demand for sustainability consulting and training among corporate clients.”

Greengage’s 360 Consulting complements its existing offerings, which include the popular ECOsmart certification and EVENTsmart carbon measurement for events.

Read more via Conference News.

MIA survey reveals just 6% feel the business events sector is supported by government

The MIA’s quarterly benchmarking report reveals that only 6% of respondents believe the business events sector is supported by the government. However, 74% remain confident in the sector’s future growth and sustainability, reflecting a slight increase from June.

Key findings include:

• The average event budget has risen by nearly £7,000, reaching £34,534 per event.
• There is an increase in overseas enquiries, indicating stronger demand for international business meetings and events, which benefit the UK economy through higher spending and longer stays by delegates.
• Less than a third (27%) of respondents feel new government policies will positively impact their business.
• Just 31% view upcoming employment legislation changes as beneficial, with concerns over proposed changes to zero-hour contracts affecting staffing flexibility and increasing risks of hiring.
• 69% of respondents mitigate staffing shortages by upskilling existing employees, and 58% have effective training programs in place, often supported by external training resources (79%).

Read more and link to full survey response via Conference News.

IBTM World Forum for advocacy brings 80 senior leaders together for meaningful debate to drive change

The IBTM World Forum for Advocacy, in partnership with The Business of Events, bought together 80 senior leaders and policymakers in Barcelona to explore the economic and social impact of global business events. Held at the Torre Melina Gran Melia Hotel, the forum created insightful debate on key industry challenges and opportunities.

Highlights included:

• PCMA President Sherrif Karamat urged DMOs to transform into ‘Destination Stewards’ and emphasised lobbying beyond tourism ministries to showcase the industry’s broader contributions, such as job creation, education, and innovation.
• The latest Global Destinations Report revealed ongoing challenges with staff shortages and funding in areas where the sector’s value remains under recognised.
• Eloísa Urrutia of American Express Global Business Travel and Christoph Tessmar of Barcelona Convention Bureau discussed how business events can address over-tourism and climate change, emphasising their potential to benefit local communities.

The forum highlighted the importance of advocating for the industry’s role in driving sustainable growth and societal benefits.

Read the full feature via The Business of Events.

Tourism in Nottingham & Nottinghamshire demonstrates impressive growth at £2.36 billion

Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, its visitor economy team – Visit Nottinghamshire and partners, are proud to announce an impressive growth in the city and county’s tourism sector.

Based on the latest 2023 STEAM tourism data measuring trends and impact of visitor economy in the region, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire have witnessed a significant increase, underlining the importance of tourism in driving local economic growth and job creation.

The total value of tourism in Nottingham city and county in 2023 reached an outstanding economic impact of £2.36 billion, marking a 15.40% increase from the previous period. This reflects the rising appeal of the region as a top destination for both day and overnight visitors.

In 2023, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire welcomed 34.33 million visitors, an increase of 4.12%. The average spend per visitor continues to climb as well, with an overall rise of 10.81% to £68.94 economic impact per trip.

Tourism in Nottinghamshire continues to play a crucial role in supporting local employment. The sector currently sustains 22,437 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs, reflecting a 9.33% growth. This positive trend highlights the vital importance of tourism to Nottinghamshire’s economy, creating jobs and opportunities for local people across the city and county.

More on this via Marketing Nottingham.

The QEII Centre pledges support for winter volunteering campaign

Central London conference and events venue, The QEII Centre, has announced it will take part in WrapUp London for the seventh consecutive year, with efforts to collect as many coats as possible to help those in need.

WrapUp London, a campaign by the charity HandsOn London, is one of the largest winter volunteering drives in the capital. It collects pre-loved coats from over 40 drop off locations across the city and Greater London and distributes them to over 75 front line charities.

In 2023, WrapUp London oversaw the collection of 16,000 warm coats. According to Shelter, in August 2024, 117,450 homeless households were living in temporary accommodation, the highest figure ever. HandsOn London says: “A coat not only provides warmth, but also a gateway for people who have found themselves in difficult circumstances to access services to help them get back on their feet.”

Collections of pre-loved coats will run from the 5th to the 24th of November at over 40 drop off locations across the city and Greater London, including The QEII Centre, in Westminster. All donations go straight to front line charities, who share the coats with those who need them most.

Full story via the QEII Centre website.

View from the EDGE

EDGE Venues’ Commercial Director, Scott Ford, summed up this latest monthly insights:

“I can personally say that IBTM 2024 in Barcelona was a great success, having visited the show last week it was great to see the buzz and passion for all things meetings and events. Huge crowds of event suppliers and procurement professionals filled the hall and lots of exciting meetings and engagements resulted in one of the best IBTM’s I have ever attended.

“Another show closer to home is CHS, and following a great day spent in Birmingham in October where we hosted a lunch for agency leaders we are looking forward to the Leeds event in 2025 where welfare will take centre stage.

“Developments continue apace here at EDGE Venues with the recent launch of our EDGE Corporate platform and the forthcoming launch of our EDGE Agency platform. Managing cost, risk and compliance while retaining the creativity and choice event planner need our technology which is built by the industry for the industry is set to change the face of event procurement into 2025 and beyond.”

Missed October’s news round-up? Check it out here!

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