1 DAY AGO - The UK has temporarily banned travellers from six African countries, including South Africa, following an announcement by SA health authorities that a new Covid-19 variant has been detected in the country. SA’s Department of Health stated on Thursday that more than 20 cases of the variant named B.1.1.529 had been confirmed. UK Secretary of State... Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - CMW analyses the carbon neutral activity of HAEVENUE, the international convention complex in Haeundae. Busan is one of Asia’s biggest tourism MICE cities, where nature and cutting edge infrastructure coexist. The city’s recently announced ‘sustainable MICE city’ scheme is centred on being eco-friendly, attracting the public attention. Starting from ‘HAEVENUE’ (Haeundae International Conference Complex), the first MICE street that stretches from Suyeong Bay to Haeundae, the existing business infrastructure is combined with Busan’s unique environmental, ecological and cultural elements. It is a strategy that will make itself as sustainable global MICE destination  in the era of with corona. In particular, ‘HAEVENUE’ is reborn as one of Asia’s best MICE destinations where the cutting edge facilities such as Bexco and Centum city are harmonised in the heavenly nature that leads Suyeong Bay, Dongbaek Island and Haeundae. In 2020, the government and Busan city designated 2.39 Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, vice-president, and prime minister of the UAE has decreed the merger of the Dubai Economy and Dubai Tourism into one entity under the name of ‘Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism’. The move is part of a plan to enhance government efficiency and resilience, while ensuring the competitiveness of the business and tourism sectors. Al Maktoum said: “The newly formed department seeks to support the economic and tourism transformations taking place in the emirate. It will adopt the same competitiveness and efficiency of the private sector and work together with it on various development projects.” Al Maktoum tasks the department with meeting seven targets to strengthen Dubai’s position in tourism and economy. These include increasing the added value of the industrial sector by 150% in the next five years, expanding export markets for local products by 50% and increasing the number of tourists coming to Dubai by 40% to Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - Have your plans for a year-end event run away from you? It’s not too late to start planning. With remote working becoming the new normal, your team needs to connect and new employees need to feel included in the company culture. It’s also an opportunity for everyone to let their hair down after another challenging... Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - Global business travel booking and management agency, Corporate Traveller, has re-launched its ‘Smart Assistant for Mobile’ (SAM) app. This platform has the ability to book flights and hotels direct, and comes on the back of a survey showing that travellers seek real-time information and updates in the new travel environment. The survey of 535 Australian businesses revealed that three in five travel bookers and decision makers are a travelling employee’s point of contact if something goes wrong on a trip. Fifty six percent say they would like to get a notification on their phone if a traveller’s flight is delayed, while 47% place a high level of importance on having access to a traveller tracking system to manage alerts and run reports. SAM has attempted to adapt to meet these emerging demands from customers. The app aims to personalise information provided to travellers dependent upon the context of their specific trip. This can mean sending flight status reports, boarding gate Collapse

4 DAYS AGO - Oliver Thomas reviews global event tech company ExpoPlatform’s new e-book, The Monetisation Blueprint, which aims to provide guidance for organisers on securing revenue streams in the rapidly digitising events world Covid-19 has changed the way event organisers monetise their digital platforms and ExpoPlatform believes that this industry shift, accelerated by the pandemic, requires “new skill sets and new processes” that are critical to shifting revenue mixes more equitably between ‘digital and in-person engagement’. The Monetisation Blueprint looks to provide a practical resource that gives advice to organisers who want to make this change. The e-book uses a variety of industry reports and leading figures to build a template for eventprofs to use in their digital strategies. The ‘blueprint’ is split into four sections: 1) Keeping up with a changing landscape. 2) Digital solutions and packages. 3) How to adapt your sales team to the new world. 4) A go-to-market checklist. Luke Collapse

4 DAYS AGO - Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) held its Annual General Meeting (AGM), 23 November, at which the results of the association’s annual Board director election ballot was announced. Three positions were contested following resignations by incumbent directors Nigel Collin, Kirsty Forbes and Paula Nolan. The ballot saw the three names below receive the highest vote counts: Megan Peters, general manager, Lateral Event Management Tina Eggers, director of business development, The Venues Collection Vicky Troptsidis, an individual member based in South Australia A meeting of the new board was held subsequent to the AGM, at which the offices of chair, deputy chair, treasurer and company secretary were determined. They are: Chair: Michael Firman, Harry the hirer Deputy chair: Beverley Williamson, Melbourne Convention Bureau Treasurer: Paul Davison, SMC Conference & Function Centre Company Secretary: Peter McDonald, MEA CEO Nigel Collin, departing MEA chair, said: “The calibre of Collapse

5 DAYS AGO - Global engagement and marketing agency, MCI, has appointed Mark Aldridge as its new creative director in the UK. Aldridge brings a range of expertise in events, advertising, marketing, theatre, film, television and experience design. His extensive agency experience includes WRG, INVNT, Imagination, Jack Morton and Wolff Olins. Client-wise, Aldridge has led on live, digital and advertising content for clients and brands including BMW, BT, GSK, HM Gov, The National Blood Transfusion Service, and The Qatari Olympic Committee. He was also the strategic director and executive creative director of communications to The UN for COP18. In his new role, Aldridge will lead on engagement, concept development, innovation, and creative assignments. He will be key in driving maximum impact in experience touch points across online and live formats for clients. Aldridge (pictured) said: “I’m really privileged to be part of the MCI team… MCI is distinctive in championing and supporting its Collapse

5 DAYS AGO - Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB), Australia, has announced it has secured 40 business events worth AUD$150m (US$109m). This adds to MCB’s pipeline of 118 business events between 2022-2028 that the Bureau says will attract 133,495 delegates, filling 387,372 hotel room nights and injecting $804m into Victoria’s visitor economy. Julia Swanson (pictured), chief executive of MCB, said: “Driving economic and social progress for Victoria by securing and delivering world-class business events, has provided MCB with a strong sense of direction in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic.” Deborah Beale, chair of the MCB Board, acknowledged the strength and stability afforded through the Victorian Government’s long-term investment of $41.3m in MCB over four years and stated it has been a significant factor in enabling the Bureau to continue its business development for larger international association events, and a focus on driving short-term business via the domestic market. The funding programme Collapse