Destination DC (DDC), the official destination marketing organisation (DMO) for Washington, DC, continues its expansion into China, Washington, DC’s top overseas market, by becoming the first DMO in the United States to officially partner with WeChat(known as “Weixin” in China).

“By expanding our partnership with WeChat, we are able to communicate with potential Chinese visitors on the platform they use most. We can also enhance the visitor experience for more than 300,000 Chinese travelers who visit Washington, DC every year,” says Elliott L. Ferguson, II, president and CEO of DDC.

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JNTO invited a selected group of buyers and journalists to experience more of Japan’s hidden gems in late February. HQ spent two days exploring Takamatsu, the laid-back capital of Kagawa Prefecture and the main gateway to Shikoku Island, and the nearby island of Naoshima, where the awe-inspiring architecture and art would impress even the not-so-arty folks.  Text and pictures by Katie Lau

With a record high of about 28.7 million visitors in 2017, Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) aims to promote Japan’s “diverse charms” as part of their marketing strategy towards specific target groups, including highlighting lesser-known destinations by organising fam trips to cities like Matsue, Kitakyushu and Takamatsu this year.

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The Durban International Convention Centre (Durban ICC) today launched its 21^st anniversary celebration campaign through a series of nationwide events leading up to an exclusive gala dinner on 27 October 2018.

Africa’s leading convention centre will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the various stakeholders that have helped Durban ICC earn this prestigious title are acknowledged and appreciated for their contributions towards the organisation’s success.

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Quality and safety in the health care sector worldwide will come under scrutiny at an international conference announced for Brisbane this week.
 
Brisbane and the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) have won the right to host 1500 of the world’s leading health care experts at the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) International Conference in 2021.
 
ISQua, a global organisation working alongside the World Health Organization (WHO), is involved in the accreditation of health care facilities worldwide.
 
Through their annual international conference, ISQua drives improvement and advancement in the quality and safety of health care through education, knowledge sharing and benchmarking.
 
Australia is considered a world leader in the provision of high quality health care and accreditation. With increased demand in accountability for quality in health care across the globe, the 2021 Conference is expected to attract a diverse mix of allied health leaders with the majority coming from Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia.
 
Brisbane’s key convention partners, Tourism and Events Queensland and Brisbane Marketing, led by the team at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, worked with Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited Group of companies (AGPAL), to secure the conference for Queensland.
 
The four day event which will deliver more than $3.6 million directly into the local Queensland economy was last held in Australia 19 years ago.
 
Queensland Minister for Tourism Industry Development Kate Jones said securing the conference was another win for business and event tourism in Queensland.
 
“This international conference presents an opportunity to showcase Brisbane and the surrounding regions to some of the brightest and most influential minds in the global health sector,” Ms Jones said.
 
“Business events of this calibre deliver huge economic benefits for the state and attract tens of thousands of visitors to Queensland each year.”
 
Dr Stephen Clark, Group CEO, of the not-for-profit AGPAL, Australian hosts for the 2021 Conference, and an ISQua Board Member, says the event will attract significant interest given the calibre of the conference program and wonderful attractions Queensland has to offer.
 
“As a member of the ISQua Board and Chair of the Accreditation Council, I am particularly proud that Brisbane has secured the global conference for 2021. Australia has a well- recognised reputation for the delivery of safe, quality health care so this major conference will allow us to showcase our successes as well as learn from the myriad or presenters from all regions of the world.”
 
BCEC General Manager, Bob O‘Keeffe said the Centre’s location in the heart of Brisbane’s knowledge corridor surrounded by universities, hospitals and research centres and its strategic partnerships with the local scientific community made it the ideal venue for the conference.
 
“Securing this much sought after scientific conference is affirmation of both Brisbane and the Centre’s reputation for hosting major international events. These events have enormous benefit in fostering international collaboration, driving investment and delivering research outcomes.”
 
Brisbane Convention Bureau General Manager Juliet Alabaster said hosting ISQua shows more people are recognising Brisbane as an ideal business event destination, thanks largely to our world-class infrastructure, venues, accommodation and leisure offerings.
 
“Brisbane is the complete destination package, and we’re ramping up our focus on attracting more business events such as ISQua by offering all the sophistication and style of larger destinations, accompanied by the warm hospitality the city is renowned for.”

www.bcec.com.au

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The rapid digitalization of the world economy is raising profound and urgent questions that global decision-makers in governments, business and communities will gather to answer at UNCTAD’s E-Commerce Week, taking place at the Palais des Nations on 16–20 April 2018.

The E-Commerce Week takes the development dimensions of digital platforms – a key feature of the evolving digital world – as its theme this year. More than 1,000 participants are expected to take part in some 60 sessions, all of which are open to the media.

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At the Associations World Congress on 12 – 14 March, hundreds of association executives were educated and informed on best practice, benchmarking, governance and many other business-critical topics specifically tailored for International and European associations.  

The Congress, managed and organised by the Association of Association Executives (AAE) was held at an exceptional venue - Flanders Meeting & Convention Center Antwerp ‘a room with a ZOO’.  

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Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s official convention bureau, recently concluded a five-day European Roadshow, developing and building on relationships with association planners across the continent. Kicking off in London on 19^th March, the roadshow travelled through Geneva on 20^th March and Brussels on 23^rdMarch, before concluding in Paris on 23^rd March.

The Associations Roadshow, which attracted an attendance of over 70 invited executives and decision makers across the four cities, offered a platform for the Dubai Business Events team to meet and engage with key decision makers from the professional conference organising (PCO) and association sectors. Attendees were able to discover Dubai and the world-class factors that combine to make the city a premier destination to host business events.

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High Fidelity Colective is a company specialised in create workshops & activities keyed to team building and promoting teamwork, with the aim of reinforcing joint leadership and developing leadership skills. They introduce two new activities for corporate events in Ibiza.

U·PLAYGROUND «special dj edition» is a new workshop made in IBIZA by their High Fidelity deejays and producers. They use the old school Technics turntables, some vinyls to practice scratch Fx. They also use new and advanced tools to mix with controlers, samplers and special color effects. At the end all teams perform they own mix and we record live by video. 100% Ibiza style.

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Business Events Canada (BEC), is set to host Innovate Canada, its first sector focused event highlighting the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. The three day event, taking place from 22 to 25 May in Montréal, will allow attendees to experience first-hand Canada’s tech sector and its innovations through the C2 conference, site visits and B2B meetings.

Business Events Canada, is extending an invite to international clients, focusing on C-suite executives of ICT companies, to experience the C2 Conference for a day, followed by a full day of behind the scenes tours of Montréal’s living labs and companies revolutionizing Canada’s technology ecosystem (from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies), and ending with a day of one-on-one meetings with representatives of destinations in Canada that have ICT as a priority sector to hear more on the extent of the sector strength across the country.

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Following on from the announcement earlier in the year that ICMI Speakers & Entertainers would be partnering with Get Global, the one-day MICE trade event has today announced the second of the globally renowned speakers to talk at Get Global.

With the ICMI partnership and the introduction of Inspiration Corner on the exhibition floor, Get Global is driving educational leadership in the trade event space.

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Major buildings throughout The Hague lit up in red to raise awareness and show commitment to ending Tuberculosis (TB), as part of a global initiative which is taking place annually on 24 March.

World TB Day is a joint campaign by the Stop TB Partnership and the World Health Organisation (WHO). It encourages cities around the world to light up their landmarks in support of fighting for a world without Tuberculosis. TB is a contagious disease which primarily affects the lungs. While TB is curable and preventable, it remains one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide, according to WHO.

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Following a successful 2017 season and unprecedented demand for 2018, Somerset House are delighted to announce that the East and West Wings, primarily used as exhibition spaces throughout the year, are now available for private hire over the summer months.

The popular central London events venue and centre of contemporary culture is offering clients availability of its East and West Wings. For the very first time, hire of these two spaces will include an outdoor section of the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court, where guests will be able to experience a large-scale light installation by Anglo-Korean artist duo Kimchi and Chips, entitled Halo. Over 100 mirrors will reflect the light of the sun through the mist of Somerset House’s famous fountains to ‘draw’ a shape of light suspended in the air. The shapes will appear and disappear throughout the day depending on the sun’s position. 

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Cvent a market leader in meetings, events, and hospitality technology, has announced several notable organisations have chosen its Event and Hospitality Cloud platforms to run their meetings and events, and increase their revenue. These organisations join more than 25,000 Cvent customers based in over 100 countries.

Cvent’s Event Cloud

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Visitors to Hamburg Convention Bureau’s stand at IMEX in Frankfurt can step inside one of Europe's largest convention centres and virtually explore the redeveloped venue’s 50 halls in advance of its official opening.

Specially developed VR headsets using new ‘unreal engine’ technology enable planners at the show to move through the Congress Center Hamburg (CCH) and interact with the space. The new CCH will be the largest of its kind in Germany when it reopens in 2020 with a 12,000 sqm exhibition area and 12,000 seats in up to 50 halls. The redeveloped centre will be able to accommodate several concurrent events and the entrance hall, rising as tall as the main building, provides an additional multi-purpose space.

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International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) met with professional conference organiser (PCO) representatives from across the nation for an inaugural industry update and roundtable to promote peer-to-peer collaboration, robust dialogue and knowledge exchange.

An open forum, the event provided an opportunity for ICC Sydney to update a diverse range of PCOs on key business developments spanning event planning, food and beverage, audio visual (AV), technology and its multi-streamed Legacy Program. It also saw the venue facilitate dynamic discussions focused on driving continuous improvement across the business.

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The 5th International Congress on Invertebrate Morphology (ICIM5), expected to attract more than 500 international participants, will take place at the University of Vienna in 2020. 

In the first week of August 2020, hundreds of leading experts concerned with the study of invertebrates such as mollusks, insects, and crustaceans will get together at the University of Vienna. Participants will present and discuss their latest findings from a range of disciplines relating to the morphology of invertebrates. Special topics of the congress include aspects of evolutionary and developmental biology, phylogenetics, genomics, and functional morphology.

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Singapore is an invigorating presence in the MICE industry, constantly pushing the envelope as a leading world-class business city and MICE destination. This geographically strategic gateway to Asia is a major air, sea and telecommunications hub which more than 150 international organisations and 7,000 multi-national companies call home, providing boundless business opportunities and thought leadership across a wide spectrum of key industries.

In our latest digital magazine ‘Singapore, Passion Made Possible’, learn about how the world’s most awarded airline and airport – Singapore Airlines and Changi Airport Group – play a major role in connecting the city-state to the rest of the world. With the airline synonymous with Asian values and hospitality and an airport that promises efficiency at every single touch-point in the traveller’s journey, event organisers can be assured of smooth arrival and departure for their delegates every time. You will also discover a spectrum of accommodation options from affordable and refreshing boutique hotels, to five-star properties that feel like a home away from home, taking care of their guests down to the finest detail.

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The ninth Ambassador Awards Evening took place in Prague to honour the contributions to the meetings industry. Prague Convention Bureau organises the ceremonial event since 2010 as a part of its Ambassador Programme. The ceremony of handing the awards over to the congress ambassadors whose efforts contributed to the development of the capital city’s meetings industry in the greatest extent took place on the premises of the Residence of the Mayor of Prague on 21st March 2018. The Mayor of Prague Mrs. Adriana Krnáčová honoured the event with her personal participation.

The aim of the event is to award renowned Czech scientists, top experts, professors, and doctors who represent the Czech Republic in international professional associations, actively lobby in favour of Prague and then participate in the preparatory work of scientific, program or organizing committees of international congresses held in Prague.

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Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) has joined forces with reputable Melbourne organisations to support the development of a wind farm, of which construction is now underway, near Ararat in regional Victoria.

MCEC's involvement in this Australian first project will enable the venue to purchase renewable energy certificates equivalent to the projected electricity consumption for their current 20,000 square metre expansion project.

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Meetings and Exhibitions Hong Kong (MEHK) has announced the 2018/2019 Hong Kong Rewards!* programme with new added benefits for MICE organisers.

Starting from 1st April 2018 through to 31st March 2019, MICE organisers will be able to bolster events held within the city through complimentary drinks receptions, meals, shopping vouchers, attraction entry and performances through the Hong Kong Rewards! programme. 

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