http://www.meetingsinternational.com News from MeetingsInternational.com en_EN http://www.meetingsinternational.com/images_site/meetings_header.png http://www.meetingsinternational.com http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=527 As a licensee of the Austrian EcoLogo, the Vienna Convention Bureau (VCB) is now authorized not only to assist conferences in matters relating to environmental impact, but also to certify them as 'Green Meetings.' Nikolaus Berlakovich, Austria’s Minister for the Environment, has awarded the VCB t... 2012-02-03 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=528 London's promotional agency London & Partners and the Vancouver Economic Commission have signed a memorandum of understanding  which will allow the two Olympic cities to share lessons and knowledge about hosting an Olympic Games with a particular focus on future opportunities surrounding econom... 2012-02-03 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=529 On February 1, 2012, Luc Hendrickx joined Kenes Group as Chief Operating Officer (COO), Global Operations. Hendrickx will also serve as member of the Executive Board. He will be responsible for the operational development of the regional and national offices (Kenes Asia, Kenes India, Kenes Turkey, K... 2012-02-03 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=525 "Super Bowl XLVI, taking place this Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis, will generate approximately $150 million in spending..." Continue reading at Successful Meetings.... 2012-02-02 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=526 euromic, the oldest international consortium of companies specialising in MICE travel has admitted three new members into its invitation-only association: Colours of Malta, Portugal Travel Team and Paloma Tours of Romania. The destination management companies were officially inducted at euromic’s ... 2012-02-02 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=523 Qatar Airways is the official partner of the 11th annual Tour of Qatar cycling event, which attracts some of the world’s leading cyclists. More than 200 international cyclists will converge on Qatar for the tour. The nine-day tour around the tiny Gulf state will see leading male and female cyclis... 2012-02-01 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=524 In January 2012, Andrea Bisping, head of the ICM – Internationales Congress Center München – took the chair of the marketing cooperation SevenCenters of Germany for one year. The marketing cooperation of the seven largest convention centres with a direct connection to an exhibition centre celeb... 2012-02-01 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=520 MCI has entered into a new collaboration with the IMEX Group and MPI to support the Future Leaders Forum (FLF). The global FLF programme is an initiative designed to encourage the best and brightest students to enter the meetings and incentive travel industry by offering education days, networking o... 2012-01-31 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=521 Ovation Global DMC has announced that Aoife Delaney, Director of Global Sales, has been elected to the Site International Board of Directors for a three year term commencing January 1st 2012. The board, which sets the programmes and agenda for the incentive travel trade association, has a more wide ... 2012-01-31 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=522 Private and public stakeholders affiliated with the Danish Meetings Industry have collaborated to create a national sustainability project: the Danish Sustainable Events Initiative. The DSEI leverages the momentum of the 2012 EU Presidency to inspire businesses to greater collaboration, innovation ... 2012-01-31 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=517 Bella Center A/S held 127 events during 2011. This is an increase of 11 percent from the previous year, when the centre held a total of 114 events. One reason for the increase is the opening of the Bella Sky hotel back in May 2011. "Investing in the largest hotel in the Nordic region has made us a... 2012-01-30 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=518 Accor has launched A|Club Places, an application on Facebook that enables A|Club loyalty programme members to earn bonus points. Every time an A|Club member stays at one of the programme’s 2,300 participating hotels and checks in the application, clients will be able to unlock badges. These b... 2012-01-30 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=519 The decision by Spanair's Board of Directors to apply for bankruptcy will, as stated in a SAS Group press release on January 27, 2012, imply write downs of SEK 1.7 billion in total that affects the result for the full year 2011. In a new press release, the SAS Group clarified the press release from... 2012-01-30 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=514 The Swedish Government, through Kammarkollegiet, has decided to extend its contract for non-domestic flights with SAS and its Star Alliance partners Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian Airlines. The contract is worth a total of SEK 700 million.  The contract applies to all flights outside Sweden. "The S... 2012-01-27 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=515 Event organizers around the world now have a new tool that can help them to report on economic, environmental and social sustainability issues.  The new guidelines have been developed by Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and a group of volunteers from events companies, governments, labour and civil... 2012-01-27 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=516 Johanna Tolonen, M.Sc. (Econ), has been appointed Finlandia Hall´s CEO as of January 2, 2012. Tolonen was until recently CEO of Wild North Destination Management Company. Previously she held the position of CEO to the Arktikum Service Company. Arktikum is a museum, science centre and a conference h... 2012-01-27 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=510 For the first time in Site’s history the Site Executive Summit will take place in a South American destination. From 3 – 7 March, Argentina will welcome professionals from the global incentive travel and motivational events industry, including leaders of the Site International Board of Director... 2012-01-26 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=511 Last week, the Bella Sky Comwell Hotel won 'Best Architecture in Europe' at the International Hotel Awards. The award was presented in London to the architectural firm behind the building, 3XN. In 2011, the hotel was named the Commercial Building of the Year in Denmark. “Our unique design is undo... 2012-01-26 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=512 The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) has announced the forthcoming launch of a formal, French-speaking, not-for-profit association in France. The association will be the first owned chapter for GBTA in the region and will create a new network of travel buyers and suppliers in France and de... 2012-01-26 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=513 Last year broke all records for meetings at the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre. A record total of 1,706 meetings, congresses and other events were organised during the year. The number is almost 15% above that of the previous year. "In addition to meetings, congresses and events, the Hel... 2012-01-26 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=508 The 2012 Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition will host a dedicated Qatar Pavilion with key exhibitors showcasing the growing opportunities and facilities related to the Qatari meetings industry. GIBTM, a REED Travel Exhibitions event, is the region’s only event dedicated to the... 2012-01-25 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=509 London & Partners strengthened its on-going strategic relationship with the global meetings and event professionals association Site with the announcement that London & Partners Head of Business Development for Europe Barbara Jamison will become Site GB Chapter President in February this yea... 2012-01-25 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=505 Speaking at the Tourism Investment Forum for Africa (INVESTOUR), UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai encouraged companies to continue investing in Africa and its growing tourism markets (Madrid, Spain, 19 January). “Africa has been one of the fastest growing tourism regions of the last decade,”... 2012-01-24 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=506 The US and Nordic region outperform all other countries in 2011 and 2015 in their capacity to produce and attract talent. This, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s the 'Global Talent Index’.   Continue reading.... 2012-01-24 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=507 From January 1, 2012 Denmark host the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Danish ambition is to make the presidency the most sustainable presidency every held, an ambition that goes in hand with another ambition: to consolidate Copenhagen’s position as the Capital of Sustainable m... 2012-01-24 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=503 Young professionals and newcomers to the global meetings industry are being offered career development at the annual International Congress and Conventions Association’s (ICCA) Forum for Young Professionals, which takes place over two days prior to the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (... 2012-01-23 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=504 Copenhagen Cooking, Northern Europe’s largest food festival, is presenting a winter edition with a special focus on Nordic cuisine and the sea. The festival runs throughout the month of February as part of the Wondercool Copenhagen winter festival and offers events such as a lumpfish safari in the... 2012-01-23 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=500 The latest provisional figures from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) reveal that London welcomed 4.4 million visitors in quarter three (Q3) of 2011 (July - September), representing a year on year gain of 1.9%. The biggest contribution to Q3’s performance came from long haul destinations, ... 2012-01-21 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=501 Organisers of IMEX in Frankfurt, together with research partners, Fast Future Research, are inviting students from all over the world to enter a new essay competition as part of its new ‘Power of 10’ research study. The Power of 10 study is designed to commemorate the global meetings, events and... 2012-01-21 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=502 The environmental performance of Estoril Congress Center (ECC) in Portugal has been recognised by EarthCheck, the environmental management, benchmarking and certification company. EarthCheck's scientifically rigorous benchmarking programme measures key indicators such as energy and water consumptio... 2012-01-21 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=499 Qatar is positioning itself as a leading event destination for the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) sector, with the recent development of two major exhibition centres and ongoing enhancements in the Katara cultural village that will host a raft of international events, such as th... 2012-01-05 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=495 India has become the latest country to be represented in the ranks of IAPCO members, bringing the total to 41 countries. And with the addition of new members KW Conferences Pvt based in Gurgaon, India and Convention Linkage, Inc, based in Chiyoda-ku, Japan, IAPCO now has 116 members. As with all me... 2011-12-20 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=496 Scandinavian Airlines was one of the first airlines in the world to offer its customers wireless Internet onboard their flights back in 2004. Now Scandinavian Airlines is once again allowing their passengers to be connected onboard their flights. With SASWiFi they will be able to surf the Internet a... 2011-12-20 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=497 Ethiopian Airlines has become Star Alliance's 28th member airline, and the third African airline in the alliance. The joining ceremony was held at Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport, where the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board (CEB) welcomed Ethiopian Airlines into the alliance. "Today... 2011-12-20 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=498 Seoul’s meetings industry continues to yield major dividends for the capital with the recent announcement by the city that it has won approximately 100 major international conferences between 2012 and 2018. With 32 of these secured in 2011 alone through Seoul Convention Bureau assistance, the numb... 2011-12-20 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=493 European Cities Marketing has announced that Garry White has been appointed as its new CEO. He will take up office in March 2012 when John Heeley, incumbent interim CEO, will step down. Dieter Hardt-Stremayr, president of European Cities Marketing, said: “ECM is enormously fortunate to have Garry... 2011-12-09 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=494 Meritus Hotels & Resorts emerged as the Most Popular Heritage Brand at the Singapore Prestige Brand Awards (SPBA) 2011. The award comes following public voting to determine the most popular choice amongst this year’s Heritage Brand Award recipients. Both the Heritage Brand and the Most Popula... 2011-12-09 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=492 Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) has announced the growth of their strategic partnership with Site, the global association for the motivational events and incentive travel industry. Extending their long-standing relationship, Site will help build on the award winning AIBTM and Americas Meetings Week, ... 2011-12-08 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=488 With a robust existing presence in Scandinavia mainly in the Congress Management (PCO) and Destination Management (DMC) market and a successful new Meeting & Events department (established 4 years ago), MCI has announced the acquisition of Stockholm-based communication and event agency, Imagine,... 2011-12-07 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=489 For the fourth year running, the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre has won the Best Green Initiative category at the national Exhibition and Events Association of Australasia’s Annual Awards. Announced at a gala dinner in Sydney last night, the award recognises the ongoing emphasis that the... 2011-12-07 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=490 27Names, the European network of live communication agencies, was awarded the Best Event in Europe 2011 and five other awards at the European Best Event Awards 2011. Jos Feijen, President of 27Names and Strategy Director of Zandbeek Communication Group (The Netherlands) commented: “The set of awa... 2011-12-07 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=491 All parties at the recent IAPCO Seminar at EIBTM, chaired by Philippe Fournier, IAPCO President, were in agreement that the bidding process has changed. Anne Rødven, VisitOSLO [Convention Bureau], Ben Hainsworth, European Society of Cardiology [Association] and Michel Neijmann, K2 Conferences [PCO]... 2011-12-07 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=487 The Hotel Booking Agents Association (HBAA) is to launch its latest study in a series of White Papers for the conference and meetings sector. Titled ‘Meetings plastic: Drastic or fantastic?’ the paper looks at the growing presence and consequences of credit card payments in strategic meetings ... 2011-12-05 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=484 When the South African city of Cape Town hosted the 19th World Diabetes Congress in 2006, it became the first of three BestCities destinations to host this world-acclaimed medical meeting over a seven year period. Dubai is next to host the Congress, as it goes biennial for the first time, from 4-8 ... 2011-12-04 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=485 the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) and the International Association of Professional Congress Organizers (IAPCO) are joining hands to provide professional development training for congress organisers in the Southeast Asian Region. In a ceremony to announce the signing of a Letter ... 2011-12-04 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=486 eTurboNews.com reports: When checking the American Airlines website, the following warning message is posted on the AA homepage: On November 29, 2011, AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle, and certain of our US-based subsidiaries (including American and Americ... 2011-12-04 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=480 As the flooding situation in Thailand has stabilized and flood waters are receding, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is accelerating its efforts to ensure travellers and tour operators worldwide to understand that Thailand’s tourism sector is open for business and welcoming visitors through... 2011-11-30 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=481 The Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) has unveiled the country’s new branding campaign and tagline. Created to convey Malaysia’s value propositions for business events, the global launch of the campaign at EIBTM also coincides with the introduction of MyCEB’s new website and... 2011-11-30 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=482 Continuing its global expansion, Ovation Global DMC has announced offices at three new locations in Latin America. The new offices will provide destination management services in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Guatemala. Ovation already operates wholly owned offices in Argentina and Brazil. Effective Dece... 2011-11-30 00:00:00 http://www.meetingsinternational.com/news.php?id=483 London & Partners, the official convention bureau for London, has announced the global business tourism campaign ‘Motivation Month’ at EIBTM. The campaign, which is set to run throughout February 2012, will build momentum towards International Confex which will take place in the first week o... 2011-11-30 00:00:00