BestCities Goes to Melbourne for Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Events (AIME) 30th Anniversary
On behalf of BestCities, Nigel flew to Melbourne to celebrate 30 amazing years of AIME.
AIME’s 30th-anniversary celebration at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center from February 13 to 15 created new connections and collaborations among the attendees. Thousands of hosted buyers, visitor buyers, key speakers, and exhibitors shared their knowledge about the latest trends and how the event industry can benefit from technology in the future.
But AIME’s anniversary was not the only reason for Nigel to make the trip. It was at AIME when Nigel Brown, Director of Marketing and Partnerships at BestCities, and Julia Swanson, CEO at Melbourne Convention Bureau, announced that the much-awaited BestCities Global Forum is happening in Melbourne in January 2024. The BestCities Global Forum has always been an excellent platform for organisers who want to improve their strategy and widen their networks in the event industry.
BestCities Global Forum Melbourne
The upcoming BestCities Global Forum, “Meeting the Challenge: Creating Connections with Purpose,” aims to gather industry-thought leaders, international associations, and partner destinations in Melbourne, Australia, in January 2024 – exploring the importance of in-person meetings in cultivating meaningful connections and purpose for meeting planners and delegates.
The Global Forum Melbourne will harness the power of collaboration in bringing positive impact through business events. There will be workshops, presentations, and hands-on experiences throughout Melbourne highlighting how in-person learning and collaboration will improve the event industry.
Are you looking forward to new meaningful connections within the events industry? Learn more about the BestCities Global Forum and register here.
To get a glimpse into the BestCities Global Forum, watch the video below by The Iceberg, featuring the previous edition of Forum, in Vancouver:
Join BestCities for Breakfast at IMEX Frankfurt 2023
We believe your morning sets up the success of your day at IMEX Frankfurt, and as such, we invite you to our breakfast session in the Hilton Frankfurt City Centre on Wednesday, 24 May. A must-attend event as we’ll tell you what we have in store for the BestCities Global Forum in Melbourne.
You will also have the opportunity to network with your association peers, members of the media and all our partner cities. Sign up here.
Happening from May 23 to 25 at Messe Frankfurt GmbH, we also have a hosted buyer group that presents unique networking and learning opportunities for event professionals. So, if you’re not yet registered for IMEX Frankfurt, join us!
European buyers can sign up here and use our invitation code DX25OX.
International buyers can sign up here and use our invitation code LT38RU.
Meeting Planner Guides
Meeting and event planning can be overwhelming without a comprehensive guide — good thing our partner cities are dedicated to giving complete and clear guides. Our updated list of Meeting Planner Guides is packed with essential information to help event leaders and organisers with future business events.
Updates from our partner cities
The following briefs are the updates, success stories, inspirations from our partner cities, and other things to look forward to in the coming months.
Berlin
Smart City Event Incubator and the Berlin Convention Office of visitBerlin New Partnership to Boost Berlin’s Event Industry
The latest collaboration between The Berlin Convention Office of visitBerlin and the Smart City Event Incubator aims to continue placing Berlin in the top international league as a destination for meetings, trade fairs, conventions, and events.
Smart City Event Incubator is a start-up scholarship program dedicated to the event industry in Germany. The VICTORIA International University and the Berlin Convention Office have signed the cooperation agreement.
In the future, ideas and impulses for the Smart City strategy of the State of Berlin and the Berlin event industry will be jointly promoted.
Waldorf Astoria Berlin Celebrates Ten Years of Excellent Service
Five-star plus Hotel Waldorf Astoria celebrated its 10th anniversary with a vow to continue providing outstanding service and breathtaking views of Germany’s capital city. The 31-story and 118-meter-high hotel in the City West is known for its luxurious interior and exterior design–attracting huge personalities worldwide.
Former Hotel Berlin Central District Has Completed Its First Reconstruction Phase
Meanwhile, the former Hotel Berlin Central District has completed the first phase of its transformation and now operates under the JW Marriott Hotels umbrella. With 505 rooms and suites, the JW Marriott Hotel Berlin remains one of the city’s largest event hotels and part of the Berlin Meeting Campus Potsdamer Platz.
73rd Berlinale International Film Festival Successfully Hosted 400 Films
The 73rd Berlinale International Film Festival – one of the world’s largest and most-frequented film festivals, hosting over 400 films from various genres and categories – was held during an in-person event in Berlin from February 16 to 26.
The festival’s European Film Market also took place, giving Baltic states Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania a unique platform as the “Countries in Focus.”
Cape Town
The SATTE (South Asia’s Leading Travel show) and India Roadshow hosted by South African Tourism allows South African DMOs, tourism products, and services to engage with leading India-based tour operators and agents to promote Brand SA.
SATTE took place from 09 – 11 February 2023 and the SAT India Roadshow from 11 – 17 February 2023. SATTE provided exhibitors with the opportunity to meet with over 1000+ Participants from over 50+ countries and 28 Indian States. The 4-city roadshow will provide a further opportunity to meet close to a 1000 trade.
The buyers are a mix of leisure tourism trade and corporate and incentive meeting planners. India as an emerging market is showing positive signs of growth in both the leisure and business travel space.
Madrid
Voting for M&IT Awards 2023 Is Now Open
M&IT Awards – known as the Oscars of the events and meetings industry – is one of the most important and prestigious award-giving bodies rewarding the leaders of the sector at the European level. Madrid is competing in the category “Best Overseas Convention Bureau.”
Show your support and vote for Madrid today!
62nd International Young Lawyer’s Congress To Take Place in Madrid in 2024
The Madrid Convention Bureau celebrates the confirmation of the Annual Congress of AIJA – International Association of Young Lawyers 2024 in Madrid. AIJA is excited to engage with Madrid’s vibrant legal community and grow AIJA’s presence in one of the premier European capitals.
Dubai
Dubai Can Initiative Successfully Cut Single-use Plastic Usage by 7 Million In Its First Year
The Dubai Can initiative has effectively reduced the use of more than 7 million 500ml single-use plastic after installing 50 water fountains in various locations.
Meanwhile, the continued awareness campaign on the harmful effects of single-use plastics and the promotion of reusable bottles make the project more meaningful as it celebrates its first year.
Yousuf Lootah, Acting CEO of the Corporate Strategy and Performance sector at Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), is immensely proud of the outcome and the progress of the Dubai Can. He hopes that the initiative will continue to encourage residents and tourists to adopt greener practices and lifestyle choices.
Launched on February 15, 2022, the fruitful year of Dubai Can drive can also be attributed to the full support of stakeholders, partners, and the communities in the city that adopted the initiative.
Want to know more about the success of the Dubai Can? Read the full article here.
Dubai International (DXB) Had A Banner Year in 2022–with an Annual Traffic Exceeding 66 Million Passengers
Dubai International proved a strong recovery with consistently robust growth as the airport recorded 66 million annual passenger numbers in 2022–going beyond the annual forecast yet again later in the year, following an exceptionally strong fourth quarter.
DXB 2022 Highlights:
- DXB welcomed 66,069,981 passengers in 2022, which resulted in a 127% year-on-year growth.
- December was the busiest month for the airport in the previous year–with 7.1 million passengers–the first time since January 2020 that DXB’s monthly traffic hit the 7 million mark.
- India remained the top destination country for DXB by passenger volume, with a total traffic of 9.8 million passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia with 4.9 million passengers and the United Kingdom with 4.6 million passengers.
Get to know DBX’s top destination cities during 2022 in this article.
Melbourne
The 30th Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) held in Melbourne has kicked off the 2023 international business events calendar with a bang.
The sell-out tradeshow of 350 exhibitors, up 50% from 2022, included convention bureaux, partners, and suppliers from every Australian state as well as international destinations including Japan, New Zealand, Hawaii, Qatar, the Philippines, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and more.
An estimated 2000+ visitor buyers, visitor media and visitor suppliers attended, in addition to over 400 hosted buyers.
An initiative of the Melbourne Convention Bureau, AIME’S 30th milestone is a significant testament to the longevity and legacy of the show and its importance to the global business events industry and Victoria’s economy.
Tokyo
International Coronary Congress (ICC): The Value of In-person Events in Tokyo
The 8th International Coronary Congress (ICC), the 25th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association for Coronary Artery Surgery (JACAS), and the 34th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Coronary Association (JA) came together as a combined assembly in Tokyo last December, under the title of “Coronary Week 2022.”
The President of the JACAS, the initiator of “Coronary Week 2022,” and ICC 2022 Program Chair Dr. Hirokuni Arai commented on the event: “In support of the event, the headquarters of the Japanese Association for Coronary Surgery, as the host society, provided a financial subsidy and generous support from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and TCVB, including financial assistance with venue costs, hybrid event equipment costs, and in-kind provision of attractions for the welcome party was also indispensable in bringing the Congress to Tokyo.
By linking ICC with two other domestic conferences at one venue, we could have a more in-depth discussion by bringing a wider range of experts to the table, the time investment for participants was significantly reduced and maximized attendance, and the organizers could save on costs.
Looking to the future of ICC, I sincerely wish that the Congress annually alternates between Tokyo and New York. It is quite difficult for Asian participants to travel to New York as it is expensive, and the time difference is significant. If we bring the event to Tokyo, participants can attend the same sessions closer to home and experience everything ICC has to offer in a one-of-a-kind destination. In this way, Tokyo is the Asian region’s ideal hub for international conferences.”
*Excerpt from an article in the February 2023 issue of the MICE Japan magazine
Singapore
World Aquaculture Singapore 2022 Highlights Innovation in Aquaculture
Singapore is greatly honoured to have hosted the World Aquaculture Singapore for the first time. With 400 speakers across 58 sessions, the three-day conference held at Singapore EXPO from November 30 to December 2, 2022, became an important platform for the global aquaculture community to exchange visionary information and also boosted Singapore’s effort to transform the island into a thriving centre for aquaculture research and innovation.
If you want to have a feel of the conference, you may watch the highlights in the video below.
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) Sparks New Possibilities for Business Events Through PCMA Convening Leaders 2023
Singapore Tourism Board is proud to have been a part of PCMA Convening Leaders 2023 to present Singapore on a global stage to over 3,300 attendees in Columbus, Ohio, from January 8 to 11, 2022. Singapore’s innovative spirit, expertise as a choice for MICE destination, pressing global issues, identifying opportunities in the marketplace, and how collaborating with planners can spark new possibilities for business events were thoroughly discussed.
STB also shared the stage with Allyson Felix–a highly decorated female athlete–who shared her experiences as a sportswoman and her unwavering passion for Women’s equity.
Singapore’s MICE Industry Continues to Bounce Back
Singapore’s MICE industry boasts a strong recovery in 2022 with a vibrant calendar of MICE events such as the Herbalife APAC Extravaganza 2023 (Herbalife Nutrition), 25th World Congress of Dermatology, International Trademark Association (INTA) 2023 Annual Meeting Live+, Gastech 2023, SILMO Singapore – ASEAN OPTICAL FAIR 2023 and TFWA (Tax Free World Association) Asia Pacific Exhibition and Conference 2023.
International marquee trade shows and new events were welcomed and attracted record turnouts. The growth momentum further reinforces Singapore’s position as the leading MICE destination and global Asia node for business.
Singapore Lifted Remaining Border Measures
On February 13, 2023, Singapore lifted the remaining border measures and set the country’s disease response to the lowest level. Here are the specific changes:
- Non-fully vaccinated travellers entering Singapore don’t have to show proof of a negative pre-departure test. Also, COVID-19 travel insurance is no longer necessary.
- Mask-wearing is also no longer mandatory in public transportation. However, masks still should be worn inside healthcare facilities.
Dublin
Dublin Is Among TripAdvisor’s Best Culture Destinations In The World
Because Dublin is known for the best-tasting Guinness, some might get the idea that the city is only great for adult travellers. But according to TripAdvisor’s editor, Dublin is also great for the whole family.
Locals and visitors are advised to take the kids out to the Dublin Zoo, where they can experience feeding the ducks at Stephen’s Green.
On the other hand, scholars may enjoy walking in the literary footsteps of writers like Yeats and Joyce, while shoppers can have a pick of designer boutiques.
Dublin Gets SSIEM 2027
Dublin was chosen by the SSIEM council and advisory council as the destination for the Annual Symposium of the Society for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism – SSIEM in 2027. The conference is expected to have 2,000 delegates.
Convention Center Dublin (CDD) To Host 16 Medical Conferences in 2023
The Convention Centre Dublin (CDD) – World’s leading Meeting and Conference Centre – is gearing up to accommodate 16 medical conferences in Ireland in 2023 – showcasing Ireland’s medical science, pharma, and medical devices sectors.
Including Biomedica and the 30th International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques (IMAST), these events are expected to attract thousands of medical and healthcare professionals in Ireland–home to many of the largest medical companies like Abbot, Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Novartis.
