The Eastside Rooms has welcomed Chris Reynolds to the team as Business Development Director, strengthening the venue’s sales and relationship-building expertise as it continues to grow its presence across the meetings, events and hospitality sectors. Chris joins with extensive experience across hospitality, events and business development, having worked with leading brands including Malmaison, Hotel du Vin, Moxy Hotels and Marriott Hotels. His career began in event agency rol

Meeting Needs brought together 85 industry supporters at One Aldwych on Monday for its annual showcase event, celebrating another year of fundraising, grant giving and life-changing impact across the UK and overseas. The event, hosted in partnership with One Aldwych, provided an opportunity for supporters, partners, volunteers and beneficiaries to come together and see first-hand how funds raised by the meetings and events industry are being used to support small charities an

Jackie Boughton to step back from full-time role after 12 years, continuing as Executive Consultant, Innovation and Growth The Barbican has revealed that Jackie Boughton, Director of Commercial, will step back from her full-time role in September, after 12 years helping to shape the Centre’s commercial success, hospitality and event industry profile and business events strategy. Jackie will continue to support the Barbican as Executive Consultant, Innovation and Growth, w

P&J Live, operated by Legends Global, will welcome the 87th EAGE Annual Conference & Exhibition to Aberdeen from 8 - 11 June 2026, reinforcing the city’s status as a natural home for major international events and a global centre of energy expertise. The European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) is a professional organisation for geoscientists and engineers with worldwide membership. It provides a platform for professionals in geophysics, exploration, geolog

IRF and SITE , with research partner Oxford Economics, deepen the industry’s most comprehensive global survey with new lines of inquiry on geopolitical risk, AI, destination management companies and practitioner sentiment. The Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) and SITE , in partnership with Oxford Economics, have announced the launch of the 2026 Incentive Travel Index (ITI), the most comprehensive and longest-running annual study of the global incentive travel industry. Now

The ICCA UK & Ireland Chapter Annual Meeting 2027 will take place at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne from 27 to 29 January 2027. The event will be hosted in partnership with the Venues at Northumbria team, with NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau, part of NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI), supporting the successful bid to secure Newcastle upon Tyne as the host destination. The meeting will bring ICCA UK & Ireland members together for three days of education,

Ottawa Tourism, The Hague Convention Bureau and Rogers Centre Ottawa celebrated the continued success of the H2O partnership this week, bringing together nearly 30 association buyers for the annual H2O breakfast at IMEX Frankfurt. The breakfast, which has become a valued fixture during IMEX, provided an informal and highly focused opportunity for international association planners to connect with representatives from both destinations and their convention centres. The event h

Collaboration between SITE and Maritz reveals a shifting qualifier profile, stronger business case and clear design imperatives for the future of incentive travel SITE, the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence, and Maritz today released headline findings from Investigating the Power of Incentive Travel Across Generations, a major SITE and Maritz collaboration. The study is the most current and comprehensive research into how Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z respond t

New wins across Indigenous, engineering, energy and science events point to growing sector strength and future repeat business Rogers Centre Ottawa is building on a strong year as a growing number of first-time conferences choose the venue, creating fresh momentum in sectors where the centre already has a foothold and helping open the door to future repeat business. This year’s conference mix includes a notable number of new-to-centre events, alongside established repeat busi

Antwerp Convention Bureau welcomed eight international association buyers to the city on last week for an exclusive familiarisation trip designed to showcase Antwerp’s growing appeal as a destination for high-level association meetings, conferences and events. The buyers experienced a curated programme themed around MICHELIN, material innovation and 40 years of fashion, bringing together Antwerp’s strengths in gastronomy, science, fashion, sustainability, culture and world-cl

BMA House has announced a new partnership with wellness events specialist Be In Your Element, bringing bespoke wellbeing experiences to clients looking to enhance delegate experience, energy and connection across live, virtual and hybrid events. The partnership forms part of BMA House’s ongoing commitment to sustainable events, with a particular focus on human sustainability. Through Be In Your Element, clients will be able to add tailored wellbeing moments into their exist

Ottawa Tourism and the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) are celebrating the successful completion of the 31st Triennial World Conference, which brought ACWW members from around the world to Canada’s capital following an eight-year relationship between the two organisations. The partnership began in 2018, when Nick Newland of ACWW first met the Ottawa Tourism team at a networking event. What started as an initial conversation about shared values, international co

Cairns will host the 6th World Ecoacoustics Congress in partnership with James Cook University, bringing delegates to the Cairns Convention Centre from 17 to 20 August 2026. Held every two years and organised by the International Society of Ecoacoustics, the congress brings together global researchers, scientists, engineers and practitioners to explore advances and innovation in ecoacoustics. The 2026 edition follows Brisbane in 2018 and Madrid in 2024, making it only the

Antwerp will welcome around 300 international dredging professionals, researchers, technical experts and sector leaders next week as CEDA Dredging Days 2026 takes place in the city from 11 to 13 May at A Room with a ZOO. The flagship conference of the Central Dredging Association, CEDA Dredging Days brings together the international dredging community to share knowledge, discuss challenges and explore solutions for the future of ports, waterways, infrastructure and the wide

For the first time in the UK, the unique world of Forza Horizon is stepping off the screen and into the real home of British motoring. The British Motor Museum today announces the launch of Forza Horizon 6 The Experience, a bold new exhibition, running from May to the end of November, where digital car culture meets real-world motoring, created in partnership with the critically acclaimed Midlands-based developers of the Forza Horizon series, Playground Games. To celebrate th

Invitation-only gathering brings together incentive travel professionals from around the world for connection, education and destination discovery in the Colombian capital SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence) has successfully concluded its 2026 SITE Incentive Summit in Bogotá, Colombia, bringing together a curated group of global buyers and suppliers for an intimate programme of business connection, education and immersive destination experiences from 20 to 23 April

New carbon reporting support, renewed top-tier accreditation, and an evolving food and drink offer reinforce BMA House’s practical approach to more sustainable events. BMA House is continuing to build on its long-standing sustainability commitment with the introduction of EVENTsmart, Greengage’s carbon measurement platform, giving clients clearer reporting on the impact of their events and access to more specialist support on carbon reduction. The platform is designed to meas

Ottawa Tourism has concluded a successful trade mission to London, reinforcing Ottawa’s position as a strategic destination for international business events, investment and collaboration across cybersecurity, defence and advanced technology sectors. A key moment in the mission was “Unlocking Unlimited Opportunities in Ottawa,” a reception held at Canada House in London with partners Invest Ottawa and the Rogers Centre Ottawa, bringing together leaders from the technology,

The Barbican has strengthened its position as one of the UK’s leading venues for meetings and events after securing MIA Gold accreditation for the fifth time. Awarded by the Meetings Industry Association, MIA Gold is the highest level within the MIA accreditation framework and recognises excellence across operational standards, customer service, compliance and the overall event experience. The latest independent assessment again recommended Gold accreditation for the Barb

Canada has emerged as the clearest winner from current geopolitical disruption in incentive travel planning, while the Gulf States is seeing the sharpest fall in confidence, according to the latest SITE Pulse Survey. Canada recorded a net sentiment score of +66.7% among European respondents and +46.4% among the Rest of World, while the Gulf States fell to -82.1% among US respondents, -72.4% among Europeans, -54.2% among Rest of World respondents and -21.4% among Asian respo