Continual Growth for IAPCO members and the meetings they organise

Continual Growth for IAPCO members and the meetings they organise – key facts

Association Meetings continue to increase in numbers, throughout the economic difficulties, from 2153 meetings in 2010 to its current level of 3111.

Governmental Meetings have also risen consistently from 498 to 656 in the same period, although still not quite reaching the peak of 707 achieved in 2011.

The Number of Corporate Meetings are slowly returning to the peak of 2010 [3454 meetings] as opposed to 3308 in 2014.

Participants Managed follow the Association Meetings trend (having the larger share of the participant numbers) and have risen steadily from 2,245,994 in 2010 to its current level of 2,861,416 – a rise of 27.5% over five years v. a membership increase of 12% over the same period.

Exhibitions on the other hand rise and fall in alternate years, with 2014 showing a drop of 9% in the number of square meters managed.

Room nights however buck the “book on-line” trend with a rise in the number of nights managed of a staggering 45% over the previous year. It would appear that the participant is reverting to seeking a service level that was previously offered when managed by PCOs.

Full-time employees, having fallen sharply over the previous two years, have now turned the corner and are starting to rise again, albeit the levels are not as high as in 2011.

And what does this all add up to: an economic impact to the local economy of meetings organised by IAPCO of 4.63 billion euros!

Full survey details can be found on the IAPCO website:
http://www.iapco.org/all-about-iapco/what-we-do/annual-survey/

LUTTRELLSTOWN CASTLE RESORT TO BE FEATURED IN UPCOMING EPISODE OF ABC’s HIT ROMANCE REALITY SERIES

LUTTRELLSTOWN CASTLE RESORT TO BE FEATURED IN UPCOMING EPISODE OF ABC’s HIT ROMANCE REALITY SERIES
THE BACHELORETTE

Luttrellstown Castle Resort will be featured in an upcoming episode of The Bachelorette. The episode will feature a rose ceremony at the breathtaking Luttrellstown Castle Resort for the remaining suitors vying for the love of the newest Bachelorette, Kaitlyn Bristowe. The episode is scheduled to air Monday, June 29, 2015, at 8/7c on ABC.

Kaitlyn is truly one of a kind. She’s beautiful and fun-loving with an irreverent sense of humor. In the past, however, her playful demeanor has often kept her from opening up and being vulnerable to love. It was her experience on The Bachelor with Chris Soules that helped her finally tap into the dormant part of her heart and open herself up to the possibility of love. Although she went home without the love she desperately hoped for, Kaitlyn is thankful for her time with Chris. And now — more than ever — she is ready to let down those walls and find love again. A huge fan favorite from the beginning, Kaitlyn is excited to share this once-in-a-lifetime journey, and she is certain she’ll find her husband as the Bachelorette. Follow Katilyn’s search for her soul mate in the 11th edition of The Bachelorette, Mondays (8:00–10:01 p.m., ET) on ABC.

ABOUT LUTTRELLSTOWN CASTLE RESORT
Frequency of access from the US, super-friendly people, magnificent castle and a reputation as the best place for a party make Ireland the perfect location to tie the knot. These are some, or all, of the reasons why ABC Networks’ Romantic Reality Series, The Bachelorette, pitched up at the Luttrellstown Castle Resort to shoot footage for the series, now in its eleventh season.

Located a mere stone’s throw from the city centre, Luttrellstown Castle Resort retains an aura of aristocratic splendid exclusivity surrounded by 560 acres of lush pasture woodland on the north bank of the Liffey. Dating originally from the early fourteen hundreds, the present structure represents the work of many hands and offers a mesmerizing, fairytale-like location in which to stage your special day.

Its unique appeal has not passed unnoticed and the Castle has hosted numerous celebrity events over the years most notably the wedding of Victoria and David Beckham – aka Posh and Becks – in 1999.

“We’re delighted that the producers of The Bachelorette selected Luttrellstown Castle Resort for this episode of the series. Luttrellstown offers something truly unique and special: the opportunity to take exclusive possession of an authentic castle that oozes history, charm and romance. This appeals to couples everywhere, including Ireland” said Anthony Smiddy, General Manager of Luttrellstown Castle Resort.

“The Castle comes with 12 magnificent guestrooms, each individually styled and appointed. Up to 170 guests can be accommodated for a formal, seated and served banquet with ample space for post dinner entertainment. Bigger numbers can be accommodated by the addition of a Marquee – the Castle holds the record still for hosting the largest Black Tie function ever staged in Ireland with 1,200 guests ” added Jessica Joyce, Marketing & Events Manager.

ABOUT THE BACHELORETTE
Romance, rivalry and, quite possibly, true love! One lucky woman gets the opportunity to find the man of her dreams — and, she hopes, her groom-to-be — in this hit reality series. This single and eligible bachelorette — a confident, successful and sensitive woman who is ready to find love — will embark on a romantic journey as she meets 25 handsome and charming men. As the Bachelorette gets to know each one, she’ll continue to narrow the field. They will travel to exotic locations and spend time getting to know each other; she will introduce them to her family and friends and meet some of theirs. At the end of her romantic voyage, if she has found Mr. Right, will there be a proposal — and from whom? Hosted by Chris Harrison, The Bachelorette is produced by Next Entertainment in association with Warner Horizon Television. The 11th season of The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC. For more information on The Bachelorette, visit http://abc.go.com/shows/the-bachelorette.

CHAIRMAN OF REED EXHIBITIONS TO RETIRE

CHAIRMAN OF REED EXHIBITIONS TO RETIRE
Mike Rusbridge, Chairman of Reed Exhibitions is to retire at the end of 2015.

Rusbridge joined Reed Exhibitions as its CEO Europe in 1988, becoming President of Europe and Asia in 1994 and appointed Chairman & CEO in 1996.

During Rusbridge’ s time as CEO & Chairman, Reed Exhibitions (RX) has grown from a $400m to $1.5bn company and today organises 500 events in 43 countries, across 43 industry sectors with over 7 million participants.

Over the years Rusbridge has spearheaded 150 plus acquisitions including the 1990 acquisition of MIDEM in France, the biggest acquisition in the industry at that date and the acquisition of Miller Freeman in 2000, positioning Reed Exhibitions as the world’s leading exhibition organiser. The business is now truly global, having been primarily based in the US and UK. RX’s transformation from a confederation of small local businesses, often entrepreneur led, into an integrated global operation with governmental and commercial relationships has been significant.

“Mike’s achievement at Reed Exhibitions has been outstanding,” says Erik Engstrom, RELX Group CEO. “Over the two decades he has led the company and built the world’s largest exhibitions business, delivering consistent growth over 20 years. I wish him well for the future.”

During Rusbridge’s tenure the digital age has had a profound impact on business and customer needs within the industry. RX now offers multi-channel opportunities and has moved, through the advanced use of data and digital capabilities, from being a service provider to pro-actively matching buyer and seller together and developing, through its quality brands, strong industry communities.

“I find the events industry as exciting and stimulating today as I first found it 36 years ago! Reed Exhibitions’ achievements have been driven by a great management team and a very talented group of people. I am very proud of what we have created and leave the Company in the extremely capable hands of the CEO, Chet Burchett, who has worked for RX for the past 11 years in the Americas. There is strong continuity of management and we are now realising significant advantage from behaving as one company worldwide. RX has a very exciting future as we develop a digitally enabled data driven business, creating powerful business relationships for our customers.” said Rusbridge.

Rusbridge will continue as Chairman until December 2015.

APPLICATIONS NOW ACCEPTED FOR THE IBTM WORLD TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION WATCH 2015 AWARD

APPLICATIONS NOW ACCEPTED FOR THE IBTM WORLD TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION WATCH 2015 AWARD
www.ibtmworld.com/techwatch

ibtm world (www.ibtmworld.com), previously EIBTM, the leading global event for the meeting and events industry, has announced that applications are now open for the Technology and Innovation Watch 2015 Award (previously known as the Technology Watch award).

Graeme Barnett, Senior Exhibition Director, ibtm world, who announced the opening of the Technology and Innovation Watch 2015 at the Event Tech Lab which took place as part of London Tech Week commented: “This new all-encompassing name for this award illustrates its evolution, recognising the importance of both innovation and technology within the industry.”

The process of allocating the Technology and Innovation Watch Award will also change as the judging panel will shortlist 10 submissions to be recognised as the ‘Top 10 Innovations to drive the industry forward’. These 10 innovations will be offered the opportunity to feature in the dedicated Innovation Zone at the show in Barcelona (17-19 November 2015).

The panel will also vote for one of these top ten to become the Technology and Innovation Watch winner who will benefit from a global promotional campaign (supported by ibtm world), a presence in the Innovation Zone and the opportunity to present their winning solution during the show.

Barnett continues, “The Innovation Zone is a popular feature for our attendees, who we know also have a growing interest in how technology impacts and can enhance their events. It makes perfect sense to therefore provide a dedicated area within ibtm world for our exhibitors to showcase their latest skills and innovations for the benefit of all involved in the meetings and events industry.”

Peter Komornik, CEO of sli.do and one of the top 10 innovations showcased in 2014 commented: “Initiated by the meetings at the show, we’ve cultivated relationships and established a number of new partnerships with people we met in the Innovation Zone. Moreover, direct feedback received in the Innovation Zone was very useful in developing new features for our customers.”

Comprising of industry experts from across the world, and chaired by meetings technology expert Corbin Ball, the ibtm world Technology and Innovation Watch judging panel 2015, will consist of Stefania Conti-Vecchi, Founder and CEO of EVENTagist, Michelle Bruno, Technology Journalist – Bruno Group Signature Events, Christine Fuchs, Founder of The Social Fox, Paul Hussey, Director of The Conference Doctor, Ruud Janssen, Founder of TNOC.org and Co-Founder of EMG and Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner of SoolNua. In addition, one new industry judge will join the panel this year: James Morgan, Co-founder of Event Tech Lab and a Senior Lecturer in Tourism and Events at the University of Westminster.

Morgan commented, “I’m really looking forward to working with the judges and ibtm world on this long-standing competition that facilitates greater integration of technology into events of all kinds. The speed of technological innovation means that busy events professionals are always playing catch-up. The Innovation Zone provides a great educational platform for event professionals to explore a plethora of technologies that benefit their events and attendees.”

Free to enter, the application process for submissions is now open at http://www.ibtmworld.com/techwatch. Entry for the ibtm world 2015 Technology and Innovation Watch Award will close on Friday 4th September.

For further information about the Innovation Zone, please visit www.ibtmworld.com/innovation

Companies providing event services or technology solutions, interested in a stand and benefiting from access to a global network of powerful meetings industry buyers should contact shane.lewis@reedexpo.co.uk or for further information, please visit www.ibtmworld.com/technology

Global Partners is excited to announce that we are starting a Vineyards to Villages Wine Club!

Global Partners is excited to announce that we are starting a Vineyards to Villages Wine Club!

As many of you know, Global Partners works with seven generous, family-owned wineries in northern Sonoma County that designate one of their best wines as a ‘Vineyards to Villages’ (V2V) wine in their tasting rooms. When people purchase V2V wines, 1/3 of the sales price is donated directly to water, sanitation, and hygiene projects for rural schools in the Kasipul Constituency of western Kenya.

What is the V2V Wine Club?
Members of the V2V Wine Club will receive shipments of V2V wines once a quarter and will therefore become regular supporters of our school water projects in Kenya.

What are the details?
V2V wines range in price from $16-$49 per bottle. You can visit gpfd.org/v2v-wines for descriptions and prices of our wines. You can sign up for shipments of 3, 6, or 12 bottles per quarter. There is no cost for joining the club. Members will be charged only the price of the wine plus shipping at the time of the shipment and can cancel any time. Members will get an e-mail detailing the next shipment before it is sent in case they are interested in changing the wines they receive. Wines will be shipped directly from the winery to you, and wines from different wineries can not be mixed in a single shipment.

Why should I join?
Purchasing wine through V2V not only helps Global Partners fund life-saving clean water programs but also helps us build awareness and community support for the work that we do. Our partner wineries donate a significant portion of the sales they bring in for their V2V wines, so it helps Global Partners to continue to show support for them through purchases from our donors. It’s also a great opportunity to get high-end, small-batch Sonoma County wines sent straight to your door! You can read more about the program at gpfd.org/vineyards-to-villages.

For more information or to sign up!

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AWARDS 2015

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AWARDS 2015
DO YOU WANT TO WIN AN INTERNATIONAL SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AWARD? COME ON, YOU STILL HAVE A COUPLE OF WEEKS TO ENTER.

Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to promote your company, make your sustainable practices known throughout the world and above all win the Skål International Sustainable Tourism Award, sponsored by Sealed Air/Diversey Care.

The awards are open to all those who wish to enter, not just Skål members. Companies from the private sector, government body or NGO’s are more than welcome to enter this competition in one of the eight different categories.

We have had some absolutely amazing contributions so far during 14 consecutive editions. All you have to do is to fill in our application form here, and then emailing a presentation and support letter if applicable, or any photo or other material illustrating your project to sandra.vera@skal.org.

Winners will have the opportunity to personally collect their award during the 76th Skål World Congress to be held in October in Torremolinos, Malaga, Spain.

IAPCO at the cutting EDGE

IAPCO at the cutting EDGE
The new educational offering “EDGE from IAPCO” was recently launched at IMEX.
No longer will the Annual Seminar be limited to Switzerland, the dynamic educational seminar will now be offered worldwide with three seminars per year in different regions.
EDGE – Experts in Dynamic Global Education – will provide education at three different levels: Level 1 – new to the industry with 2-3 years’ experience; Level 2 – intermediate, 5 or more years’ experience in this your chosen career path; Level 3 – senior project or departmental manager, or business manager/owner. Seminars that provide people with that edge they need in a global competitive environment.
Focused on professional congress organisation these seminars will replace the traditional Wolfsberg Seminar and will play an important role in international MICE education for the PCOs, Meeting Planners and the wider meetings industry. As hosts of the seminars, Destination Partners in IAPCO Education will be able to participate in the programme, showcasing their destination and bringing an international flavour to EDGE.

There are three EDGE programmes already in place: Auckland, New Zealand, 24-26 August 2015; Copenhagen, Denmark, 18-21 January 2016; Whistler, Canada, 25-27 May 2016.
Cutting EDGE seminars will now be delivered worldwide, affordable and accessible. Are you standing on the EDGE of the future?

MORE ABOUT IAPCO EDGE SEMINARS
About IAPCO: Meeting Quality
The International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) was founded in 1968, is registered in Switzerland and represents today more than 120 professional organisers, meeting planners and managers of international and national congresses, conventions and special events from 41 countries. IAPCO members [2014] organise in excess of 7075 meetings annually, totalling some 2.861 million delegates and representing an economic impact in the region of 4.63 billion euros. IAPCO is committed to raising standards of service among its members and other sectors of the meetings industry. Today IAPCO membership offers a unique quality assurance, since entry into membership of IAPCO is by meeting strict criteria and by continuous quality assessment. The high quality standards are secured by means of continuing education and interaction with other professionals. The Annual Seminars, The Meetings MasterClass and the Annual Meeting & General Assembly of its members are the highlight events of IAPCO.

For further information, please contact:
IAPCO Head Office: Brambles House, Colwell Road, Freshwater, PO40 9SL, UK Email: info@iapco.org www.iapco.org

Turkish Airlines wird zum fünften Mal in Folge als beste Airline Europas ausgezeichnet

Turkish Airlines wird zum fünften Mal in Folge als beste Airline Europas ausgezeichnet

Köln/Istanbul, 16. Juni 2015: Bei den 2015 Skytrax World Airline Awards wählen Flugreisende Turkish Airlines zur „Best Airline in Europe“ sowie zur „Best Airline in Southern Europe“. Zudem wird die Airline mit den Preisen „World’s Best Business Class Airline Lounge“ und „World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining“ ausgezeichnet.

Bei den diesjährigen Skytrax World Airline Awards verzeichnet Turkish Airlines erneut einen großen Erfolg: Zum fünften Mal in Folge erklärten Flugreisende Turkish Airlines zur „Best Airline in Europe“. Die Awards werden von dem Unternehmen Skytrax vergeben und basieren in diesem Jahr auf 13,02 Millionen Fragebögen, die zwischen Mai 2014 und Januar 2015 von Passagieren aus 112 verschiedenen Ländern ausgefüllt wurden. Die Umfrage deckt 550 Flughäfen weltweit ab.

Für ihre neu gestaltete und erweiterte Business-Class Lounge am Flughafen Istanbul verdiente sich die Airline zudem den Preis „World’s Best Business Class Airline Lounge“. Auch in der Kategorie „Best Business Class Lounge Dining“ gewann Turkish Airlines zum zweiten Mal in Folge und dank des exzellenten Catering Services von Turkish Do & Co in der Turkish Airlines Lounge am Flughafen Istanbul Atatürk. Das Cateringunternehmen wurde bereits mehrfach für seine hervorragenden Dienste bei der Airline ausgezeichnet.

Die 2015 World Skytrax Airline Awards wurden am 16. Juni 2015 in Paris verliehen. Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted überreichte die Preise in den Kategorien „Best Airline in Europe“, „Best Airline in Southern Europe“, „World’s Best Business Class Airline Lounge“ und „World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining“ dem Turkish Airlines CEO Dr. Temil Kotil. Die Awards bestätigen den Erfolgskurs der Airline, der sich auch in steigenden Passagierzahlen zeigt.

Schon in den Vorjahren erwies sich Turkish Airlines bei den Skytrax Awards als Spitzenreiter. Mit den jüngsten Auszeichnungen stärkt Turkish Airlines ihre Position als eine der weltweit führenden Airlines. Das Unternehmen belegt diese zudem durch beeindruckende Wachstumszahlen, umfangreiche Flugzeugbestellungen und den stetigen Ausbau ihres weltweiten Streckennetzes.

Über Turkish Airlines:
Turkish Airlines fliegt aktuell weltweit mehr als 270 Destinationen in 111 Ländern mit einer Flotte von über 270 Flugzeugen an. In Deutschland fliegt Turkish Airlines bis zu 370 Mal wöchentlich ab Berlin, Bremen, Friedrichshafen, Hamburg, Hannover, Düsseldorf, Köln, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden (ab dem 30.06.2015), Leipzig, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Nürnberg, München und Münster/Osnabrück in die Türkei und bietet über das Drehkreuz Istanbul Atatürk International Airport ideale Anbindungen in den Nahen und Mittleren Osten, nach Afrika und Asien. Weitere Informationen unter http://www.turkishairlines.de.
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#BestAirlineinEurope #TurkishAirlines #BestAirline #Skytrax #SkytraxWorldAirlineAwards #WorldAirlineAwards

Visa-Free Travel to Indonesia Approved for an Additional 30 Countries

Visa-Free Travel to Indonesia Approved for an Additional 30 Countries

Destination Asia Indonesia is pleased to confirm that the Indonesian government has formally introduced visa-free travel for citizens from an additional 30 countries, stating that visa-free arrivals are valid for 30 days (with no extensions allowed), effective immediately.

Those countries eligible for visa-free travel to Indonesia include:
Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Brunei, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Philippines, Chile, Morocco, Peru, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Macau, China, Russia, South Korea, Japan, United States, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and South Africa.

The new facility is available to citizens from those countries entering for touristic purposes and while the Visa-On-Arrival fee has been waived, standard immigration entry and clearing procedures remain in place.

The five international airports through which citizens of the now 45 countries and territories can enter Indonesia visa-free are, Soekarno-Hatta in Jakarta, Ngurah Rai in Bali, Kuala Namu in Medan, Juanda in Surabaya and Hang Nadim in Batam.

While we can confirm that the visa free policy for visitors from the above countries is already in place at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport, we expect the other entry ports in the list to take a few days to streamline the process.

Currently visitors arriving through entry ports not in the above list, such as Lombok’s Bandar Udara Internasional airport or Yogyakarta’s Adisucipto International Airport will still have to pay the USD 35 Visa-on-Arrival fee. Sri Bintan and Tanjung Uban seaports in Bintan Island and Sekupang and Batam Center ports in Batam will also provide the Visa-on-Arrival facility.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any queries regarding this new policy.

Destination Asia Indonesia
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#VisaFreeTraveltoIndonesia #VisaFreeTravel #DestinationAsiaIndonesia #DestinationAsia

IBTM WORLD CONTRIBUTES TO SUCCESS OF LEADING INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS DESTINATIONS

IBTM WORLD CONTRIBUTES TO SUCCESS OF LEADING INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS DESTINATIONS

Leading Association Meetings Destinations (confirmed by latest ICCA rankings) including Paris, Vienna, Madrid, Berlin and Barcelona are all confirmed to attend ibtm world (www.ibtmworld.com) 2015, formerly EIBTM, supporting the notion that the event plays a vital role in their business development and marketing strategies.

The event, which is set to take place in the Fira Gran Via, Barcelona will provide an international platform from which over 15,500 MICE professionals will come together to conduct their annual business meetings.

Christoph Tessmar, Director of Barcelona Turisme Convention Bureau commented, “We’ve been exhibiting at ibtm world since the very beginning and the show has gone a long way towards supporting us to position ourselves as a major international meetings destination for Associations. Each year we generate a vast amount of business from the show which has also contributed towards positioning Barcelona as one of the most popular Association Meetings Destination globally.”

This year’s show is set to bring together over 4,000 top level Hosted Buyers who will be able to schedule face-to-face meetings with suppliers of their choice, thanks to the mutual match appointment system. Many exhibitors who attended last year’s show are also set to return this year to take advantage of the targeted business opportunities.

Companies interested in benefiting from access to a global network of powerful meetings and events buyers and exhibiting opportunities should contact ibtmworld.sales@reedexpo.co.uk for further information or visit www.ibtmworld.com/exhibit

To find out more about the Hosted Buyer Association Programme please visit: http://www.ibtmworld.com/myclub. Hosted Buyer Association Programme applications are reviewed and accepted based on the number and size of meetings, events, incentives and conferences they purchase annually, individual purchasing authority, their annual budget for meetings, events and incentives, the value of their recent business booked and potential for future business in the meetings and business travel industries.