What’s New This November?

It’s almost time to wrap up the year, but before it officially ends, we’re giving it all we’ve got with this November update. Almost an entire year after the worst of the pandemic has passed and we can safely say that the MICE industry has taken amazing strides in pulling things back to normal.

Let’s peek at some of the most anticipated events this November and in the coming months.

 

Gain Fresh Perspectives at the BestCities Global Forum 2022 in Vancouver

We’re getting nearer to the much-anticipated BestCities Global Forum happening in Vancouver from December 8 to 11 this year. It’s an amazing opportunity not only to create bigger networks and connect with like-minded individuals within the industry but also to discover all the amazing things Vancouver has to offer. 

The programme itself is packed with key learnings that could take every attendee’s experience to a whole new level:

  • The opening night reception is happening at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, where guests will learn how to incorporate local culture into future conferences
  • An explanation of how the meetings industry can adapt principles promoted by Ocean Wise Seafood, which empowers event planners, consumers and businesses to choose sustainable seafood options that support healthy oceans
  • A visit to Grouse Mountain, including an evening snowshoeing through a stunning light installation before tucking into dinner at 1,230 meters (4,035 feet)
  • An ambassador dinner at the Vancouver Convention Centre, the world’s first double LEED Platinum certified convention venue

Plus, there will be opportunities throughout to learn the latest news from the global meetings industry and gain valuable insights that can be applied to local events.

Also highlighted in this year’s forum is Engage for Good, an initiative we launched at the Forum last year. This year we aim to raise funds for Ocean Wise Seafood. Ocean Wise advocates for sustainable fishing practices in an effort to continue meeting consumer demand without having as much impact on ocean life.

To participate in the Engage for Good program, attendees are encouraged to complete different goals to accumulate points. These goals include but are not limited to, posting photos and videos about the event. Donations will be given based on how many points each individual and group accumulates.

Interested? Click here to register your interest today or click here to read our latest press release about the Global Forum 2022.

 

ICCA Congress in Krakow

Another event that the global MICE community looks forward to, the 61st ICCA Congress, is happening this November 6 to 9 in Krakow. With the theme “Together We Can”, the congress will create different opportunities for people to come together and learn from each other through an exchange of best practices. 

One such opportunity is the different Campfire Sessions scheduled throughout the event. In these sessions, a facilitator highlights specific topics that focus on impact and legacy and allows participants to engage in group discussions. Topics include The Relevance of Impact, A Winning Mentality, and a closed focus group discussion about ‘World Incredible Impact Programme (IIP) Day’, among others.

Another highlight of the Congress is the award ceremony for the 2022 Incredible Impacts Awards winners. Click here to read the winner's announcement

 

IMEX America

The IMEX America was concluded successfully, with over 12,000 participants coming together to grab the learning opportunities presented in the 3-day event in Las Vegas. Even the hosted buyer program was a hit, with a total of 3,379 hosted buyers coming from 65 different countries.

One of the highlights that attendees were especially grateful for was the BestCities Breakfast Session, where guest speaker Florent Thévenin, Founder & CEO of Digital Networking for Thought-Leaders, gave a talk entitled “Grow Your Association’s Social Reach & Influence in 3 Simple Steps”.

In this breakfast session, Florent talked about how organizations could use networking, social listening and social selling to create more opportunities. There were practical takeaways given, mostly focused on how one can position their organization as a thought leader who can be the best resource for all things relevant to the niche. He also talked about how to engage with current and future members, partners and funders on social networks, as well as how to humanize the organization’s brand to encourage more engagement.

 

 

Updates From Our Partner Cities

 

Dubai

This month's round-up features a number of bid wins, but it's Dubai that takes the cake, winning bids for 99 major conferences, congresses, incentive travel programmes and other meetings over the forthcoming years. Dubai Business Events submitted 200 bids and proposals for international business events in the first half of 2022, with several bids yet to be determined.

Event wins so far include the International Congress of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (2023), IFOS ENT World Congress (2023), Congress of the Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Association (2024) and International Congress of Endocrinology (2024). In addition, key corporate events and incentive travel programmes to be hosted in Dubai include Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries’ Annual Convention and Incentive (2022) and IBM Best in Tech (2023).

 

Dublin

Opening this November, the latest addition to the stylish and sophisticated Dublin Royal Convention Centre offers a brand new, state of the art, purpose-built convention centre. Offering convenient, functional and flexible facilities, the venue is expected to make events extraordinary, from private boardroom meetings to professional conferences of up to 800 people and gala banquets for 550 guests. With over 2,700sqm of meeting and event space with a capacity for over 1,100 delegates, the new venue spans over two floors, consisting of the main plenary room, five break-out rooms and an impressive exhibition space. The complex now offers 20 meeting spaces across the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel and Dublin Royal Convention Centre, as well as outdoor, open-air event space. Click here to read more.

 

Fáilte Ireland has secured €10 million worth of international conferences for Ireland at IMEX America this year, including the international papillomavirus conference 2024, International Air Transport Association’s twice-annual slot conference 2023, and the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest 2024. It brings to €127 million the value of conferences that Fáilte Ireland has secured in 2022 for the coming five years, with a total of 313 events.

Winter in Dublin is back. This year’s programme will feature incredible one-off events and a host of winter activities. The days are shorter, and the coats are out. It’s Winter in Dublin, and there’s no better place to warm up as we kick off a season to remember. Recurring festivals, incredible one-off events, and a host of winter activities, big and small, await. The three-month celebration runs from November 2022 to January 2023.

 

Melbourne

Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) secured four shot-lead international incentive group wins this October. A total of 159 delegates from across Southeast Asia and New Zealand travelled to Melbourne this month and delivered more than $362,778 during their stay to the Victorian economy. Highlights of these incentive trips include a trip to Yarra Valley to enjoy a ride on Puffing Billy, city tours and, of course shopping.

MCB also won an international incentive association meeting which will see 75 members from The Computing Technology Industry Association, travel to Melbourne for its Australian New Zealand (ANZ) Community Meeting 2022 this November. It’s expected this group will deliver $194,864 to the Victorian visitor economy.

Maria Rivera, Director of Business Development US and Canada, and Kaitlyn Palatucci, Business Development Manager US and Canada, attended IMEX America in Las Vegas. MCB had a booth on the Australia Stand where the team met with international planners from the conference, incentive and corporate events industries. This the key exhibition presented significant business development opportunities for Melbourne.

 

Copenhagen

Copenhagen has been chosen to host the United European Gastroenterology Week 2023 happening from October 14 to 17. This is the first time that the international gastroenterology congress is coming back to the country, with the first happening back in 2005.

The congress will be held at the Bella Center and is expected to bring in over 10,000 delegates. Click here to read more.

 

Tokyo

As of October 11, the Japanese government has relaxed border control measures to be on par with other G7 countries. It abolished the daily arrival cap, allowed independent tourism, and resumed the visa exemption measures for ordinary passport holders of 68 countries/regions. Regarding new entry of foreign nationals into Japan, based on the New Border Measures announced, applications to the Entrants, Returnees Follow-up Systems (ERFS) are no longer required.

For more information, please visit here.

The Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau has announced that Tokyo has placed the winning bid to host the World Congress of the International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS) in April 2025. The Congress will be held at the city's flagship facility, the Tokyo International Forum.
IFFS2025, the second such gathering in Japan since 1971, is expected to attract over 4,000 participants, including 1,500 from abroad from more than 30 countries. It's promising to be a special event as 2025 is also the year of the 70th anniversary of the Japan Society for Reproductive Medicine which hosts the Congress.

Click here to read more.

Photo by © TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FORUM CO., LTD

 

November events in Tokyo:

31 October - 02 November 2022: IPBC Asia

08 - 13 November 2022: The 31st JAPAN INTERNATIONAL MACHINE TOOL FAIR

 

Cape Town

Cape Town Air Access (CTAA) was awarded the Destination award at World Routes 2022 in Las Vegas. This is the first time that CTAA was given this award after being nominated in 2018.

World Routes is the biggest route development conference in the world, attracting thousands of attendees from the aviation industry. The judging process normally involves key players in the airline industry and winning paves the way for more flights and more visitors into the winning cities.

 

Berlin

World premiere in Berlin: On the eve of the World Health Summit, the international Virchow Prize for Global Health was awarded for the first time on October 15. The prize is endowed with 500,000 euros under the patronage of the German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Dr. John N. Nkengasong is the award winner, which was established by the Virchow Foundation for Global Health. The Cameroon-born virologist is being recognized for his outstanding achievements in tackling complex global health problems.

This month, Berlin Science Week takes place from November 1 to 10. Together with numerous exciting organizations from Berlin and the world, the science festival presents a rich programme that offers insights into current research and innovation in science, evokes discussions on the grand challenges of our time, and encourages inspiring encounters in diverse and engaging formats. Over 200 in-person and online events are possible to join. In interactive formats, the most outstanding scientists address Health & Wellbeing, Discovering Earth & SpaceSocietal Trends & TransformationsArt & Science and other topics.

Click here to discover the program.

Also, there is good news for the event industry in Berlin. The Berlin Congress Fund, first launched in April 2021, will be extended until the end of 2023. As an initiative of the State of Berlin, the Congress Fund supports event planners in challenging times and is financed with funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERFE) and the State of Berlin. So far, 200 events with 200,000 participants have already been supported.

Click here to read more about the Congress Fund.

Finally, looking back to IMEX America in Las Vegas, the Berlin Convention Office is happy about a successful trade fair appearance. There was a lot of interest from hosted buyers from USA/Canada, LATAM and Europe. Also, the customer quality at the tradeshow was perceived as very high, and various inquiries have already been received for Berlin for 2023 and the following years. Overall, a very successful trade fair participation for Berlin.

 

Singapore

Singapore will be hosting the 5th Bloomberg New Economy Forum happening from November 14 to 17 with the theme “Lighting a Path Through a Storm”. Expected to attend the forum are government leaders, policymakers, and influential entrepreneurs. This is also the 3rd time that Singapore will be hosting the annual event.

Meanwhile, the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference has locked in an agreement to hold their next four summits in Singapore over the next four years. Happening around May every year, the summit brings together professionals and organizations within the duty free and travel retail industry.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) also continues their winning streak by signing Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with three more partners, ensuring continuing support over the next few years. The Global MICE Sustainability Alliance, Italian Exhibition Group, and Comexposium have all committed to making significant contributions to Singapore’s MICE industry. These contributions could come in the form of new events or support for existing ones.

With all these events being planned, the Singapore Tourism Board takes it further by working with PCMA, a community for Business Events Strategists based in Chicago. Together, they have put together a toolkit called The Time is Now – Sustainability in Business Events Industry. The toolkit aims to empower event organizers to implement sustainable practices even while in the planning stage.

Cover page of the whitepaper by American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) in partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB)

 

As for the COVID-19 guidelines, Singapore has completely lifted their Vaccination-Differentiated Safe Management Measures (VDS) effective October 10. 

 

Vancouver

Vancouver seals the deal with global toxicologists and has been chosen to host the 18th International Congress of Toxicology in 2028. ICT2028 is expected to bring at least 1,500 toxicologists from all over the world. The congress will focus on the latest developments in toxicological science and regulation, and will feature general scientific sessions and continuing education classes.

Destination Vancouver is embarking on a significant consumer marketing campaign in Los Angeles. The campaign, called Go North-ER, highlights the more epic level of experience to be had by going just a little beyond Portland and Seattle. The message will be distributed via streaming tv and pre-roll video, a series of out-of-home units, search, social and digital ads, and through a partnership package with AEG including in-game and venue advertising during LA Kings games. This partnership will also extend into 2023 and 24, eventually including LA Galaxy games and LA Live site activations.

 

Guadalajara

Guadalajara will host the World Congress of Human Genetics 2026. Thanks to the leadership of Dr. Augusto Rojas Martínez, Mexican ambassador of the Latin American Network of Human Genetics RELAGH, Guadalajara won the XV World Congress of Human Genetics to be held in 2026.

 

In addition, UNIVA has been chosen as the venue for the next FIUC General Assembly in 2025. Last July, Mtro. Andrés Barba Vargas, Director of International Development and International Affairs of UNIVA, applied and won together with Guadalajara the XXVIII General Assembly of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (FIUC) 2025. Congratulations for bringing another world event to the City!

In other news, Tlaquepaque, a small town in Guadalajara, has been featured by Condé Nast as one of the 9 Beautiful Small Towns in Mexico Too Often Overlooked by Tourists. A small but colourful community located 30 minutes East of downtown Guadalajara, it’s the best place to go for arts and crafts. 

TimeOut has also included Guadalajara in their list of The World’s Coolest Neighborhoods in 2022. Placed right on the top spot at #1, the magazine highlights Colonia Americana’s neoclassical mansions, art deco, and music venues.  

 

Madrid

Madrid has once again been hailed as Europe's Leading Meetings & Conference Destination at the World Travel Awards! This win is also historical because it’s Madrid’s 5th time in a row to be recognized for the same award, having been given this same accolade in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.