All Entries Tagged With: "education"

Controversy likely at IAPCO / IPCAA Seminar

Wednesday 22 May, 08.45 at IMEX, Frankfurt 

The IAPCO / IPCAA Seminar “How do you fit into the healthcare congress stakeholder chain?” is certain to cause controversy and perhaps even discord !

Martin Jensen, of H. Lundbeck, representing ICPAA, will review, amongst others;

Would you listen to what a convention bureau has to say?

Is there a trend among IPCAA members to re-think the strategies of attending healthcare congresses?”

Christian Mutschlechner, of the Vienna Convention Bureau, will be defending the position of the convention bureaux confirming that they can be, and are, instrumental in the selection process, attracting medical meetings to a city and he will answer the leading question as to “whether a convention bureau can do more than they are currently doing?”.

“But will PCOs continue to pursue medical congresses if there is the possibility that these become less attractive due to compliance?” argues Caroline Mackenzie of Congrex Holdings BV, IAPCO member.

Make your voice heard at IMEX – participate in the Seminar – Wednesday 08.45

Vilnius Open hosts first IAPCO Seminar in Lithuania

“Vilnius Convention Bureau was proud to host the first IAPCO National Seminar in the country believing that this exceptional training opportunity would provide a substantial amount of practical information and invaluable knowledge to the participants” said Jolanta Beniulienė, Director, Vilnius Convention Bureau.

High ranking presenters from the industry shared their knowledge and expertise with the 50 invited participants who attended the 2½ day training seminar.   Sarah Storie-Pugh, IAPCO;  Patrizia Semprebene Buongiorno, Managing Director, AIM Group International; and Sarah Fitzpatrick, Managing Director, Congrex-UK, combined to form a formidable teaching faculty.

“The IAPCO’s educational programme provided specialist training not only for professional congress organisers and meeting planners, but to all sectors who play a key role in the meeting industry market” continued Jolanta, “The programme was prepared in consultation with the IAPCO Training Academy and I assure you that the participants benefited highly from it”.

MyCEB organises training to boost the business event industry in SE Asia

Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) brought together an impressive ensemble of experienced world-class speakers, namely Mathias Posch, President of the International Conference Services (ICS) Canada, Sarah Storie-Pugh, Administrator, IAPCO, and André Vietor, Managing Director of Viajes Iberia Congresos, Spain, to share their knowledge bringing a wealth of practical experience on a range of hot industry topics particularly in areas that would improve the region’s competitiveness globally in the business tourism market.

The seminar also provided up to 10 hours of continuing education that could be applied towards the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) programme. This is in line with the aim of both IAPCO and MyCEB to encourage conference organizers to acquire international certification.

Zulkefli Hj. Sharif, Chief Executive Officer, MyCEB said, “This was an initiative created by MyCEB together with IAPCO to empower our industry players, especially event planners, with updated knowledge on the global scene of the business events industry. Participants were encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to listen to the dynamic team of experts speaking at this seminar”.

Enthusing the Travel and Tourism professionals of tomorrow

The University of Brighton and the Institute of Travel and Meetings (ITM) recently held the first ever “Travel Professionals of Tomorrow” conference to encourage more students to think about a career in the travel industry. Over 100 sixth form students from across Sussex and Surrey attended the event investigating the changing nature of the travel and tourism industry and the variety of careers available in this dynamic industry.

The day started with a tour of the American Express Community Stadium, home of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club. The tour included a presentation from Richard Hebberd, Head of Operations at the stadium on the importance of sport and tourism to the local economy and the role of the new stadium in developing the event and entertainment industry for Sussex. The tour was followed by a series of lectures on different aspects of the Travel industry. Patrick Kuziw, Travel Manager at SOS International explored the issues of what travellers should do if caught out in a disaster or conflict zone. Ian Jones, Director of Group Sales at De Vere Group enthused the students to join the industry saying how diverse and exciting the hospitality and meetings industry is.

The speakers from Virgin Atlantic encouraged all the students to think differently and be unique. Kerry Douglas, Global and Multinational Sales Manager and Louise Lloyd, Regional Sales Manager explored the growth of the airline and how it tries to differentiate itself from the competition. Ike Ihenacho, ITM Board Director and Head of Travel at Nokia chaired a lively panel debate of issues raised by the students. This included how they could ensure career progression in the industry and the panellist’s views on how the industry would change in the next 10 years.

The panellist’s all agreed that technology and product differentiation were going to have a major impact on the future of the travel industry. They also stressed that there are always roles in this industry for those who are people focused, know how to work hard but importantly also enjoy themselves at the same time.

Jack Hovell, a sixth form student at Varndean College described the event as a very interesting day. He said: “There were some good facts, which were easy to listen and to understand”. The event also assisted teachers in encouraging their student’s. Adam Webster from Imberhorne School believe it was “an excellent event that provided my students with an interesting glimpse into the travel industry”.

The day was co hosted by the University of Brighton with the ITM, reflecting the importance that the university places on making the degrees it offers both relevant to industry whilst educating professionals of the future. The University of Brighton and the ITM have been in partnership in education for the past two years. The ITM accredit the university’s International Travel Management BA(Hons)degree, the only such accreditation in the country.

Simone Buckley, ITM’s CEO said: “bringing new talent into this industry is of the utmost importance to the ITM and we are proud of the work that we do with Brighton University in order to help make this happen.”

Senior lecturer Janet Woolley said: “It is very important for us to have strong links with local schools alongside industry organisations such as the ITM. Links with industry ensure our courses are relevant and our graduates are fully prepared for a career in the travel and tourism industry.”

Best practice in city marketing highlighted at ECM Bilbao

115 delegates participated in the ECM Autumn Meeting. The meeting was hosted by the city of Bilbao, Spain, from 16^th to 19^th November 2011 and the seminar topic focussed on best practice in city marketing approaches, methods, projects and processes that have proven themselves over time and can therefore serve as role models.

Garry White, Head of Global Network and Global Strategy at VisitBritain, provided a keynote address in which he drew on his global experience of destination marketing to review trends, problems and opportunities. He left delegates with the challenging question of how best to promote the Western European city tourism offer to BRIC and other emergent markets.

Taking a cue from what has become known as the Guggenheim effect, host city Bilbao showed how an iconic mega attraction can transform destination image, leading to a sustained expansion of business and leisure tourism which continues to have far-reaching economic, social and cultural impacts. Alfonso Vegara, President, Fundación Metrópoli, presented a vision of the ongoing physical and architectural transformation of Bilbao, emphasising the city region dimension. Alfonso Martinez Cearra, General Manager, Bilbao Metrópoli 30, examined the Guggenheim effect from an historical and social perspective, from the hugely popular floral dog sitting outside the Guggenheim Museum to the community linkages engendered by tram and subway developments.

The second half of the seminar shifted attention from flagship developments to marketing and visitor servicing best. First up was a demonstration of the impactful branding and communication activities of the Vienna Tourist Board, illustrated by an innovative Vertical London promotion recently undertaken in Trafalgar Square. The Chief Executive of the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, Scott Taylor, provided insights into the success of his organisation’s award winning convention department. His message throughout was on exceeding expectations through delegate, industry and client focus. The so-called Glasgow Model used convention subsidy to minimise risk to the client and maximise engagement. A final presentation showed how Stockholm had introduced a comprehensive and innovative range of visitor servicing arrangements, working through private providers of information services as well as partners such as the airport and congress and retail centres. Delegates were shown how the new, leading edge Stockholm Tourist Centre achieved an 85% customer satisfaction level, and how a collaboration with Arlanda airport had led to a jointly operated visitor reception facility and the celebrated Hall of Fame.

The next ECM meeting will take place in St. Petersburg, Russia, from 28^th to 31^st March 2012 where participants will have the opportunity to review and debate the future of Europe’s city tourist offices and convention bureaux.

Make the most of New Business Opportunities in the Future Events Experience

The new live Future Events Experience at EIBTM (www.eibtm.com) will deliver a number of business, education and networking opportunities to deliver insight into how future conferences and meetings will be run.

Located near the Internet Café and EIBTM Lecture Theatre, the Future Events Experience (Stand P350) is tipped to be the most visited new feature at the show. In partnership with SyncPartners and Newtonstrand, the ‘Future Events Experience’ will incorporate innovative speaker presentations, a live demonstration area, technology showcase and networking opportunities for all. For the full programme please visit: www.eibtm.com/future

Newtonstrand’s ‘Chance2Speak’ will also provide another innovative platform to enhance education and networking opportunities, by empowering every delegate to become a speaker at the event by sharing ideas and thoughts. Attendees are invited to book a 10 minutes time slot to speak to the Future Events Experience audience http://newtonstrand.com/eibtm/speak/speak.html

An ‘Ask the Experts’ session will also take place on Tuesday 29^th November at 10:45am- 11:15am. The panel comprising five Technology Experts will be onsite to discuss all technology questions, issues and challenges which the audience raise http://www.eibtm.com/page.cfm/action=Seminars/SeminarID=68

All exhibitors at EIBTM are also invited to upload their brochures and E-Posters free of charge onto the interactive screens in the new Future Events Experience. This offers exhibitors a unique opportunity to reach show attendees with their key business messages. For more information please visit: http://eposters.newtonstrand.com

Trade Visitor registration for EIBTM 2011 is open at www.eibtm.com/register. Pre-registering is free of charge and will save the onsite entry fee of €25. Benefits of pre-registering include: Fast track entry saving you valuable time queuing, flexibility to arrange your own schedule, discounted travel and accommodation and pre-show information and updates allowing you to effectively plan your visit.

EIBTM 2011 takes place 29^th November – 1^st December 2011, Barcelona.

London is World’s Top Destination for Academic Excellence

London’s academic offering for international students now extends across a range of subjects from business to science and fashion to technology. With over 105,000 international students from 214 countries, London is the leading destination for higher education.

Following in London’s footsteps, Boston is home to five while Hong Kong and Paris both host four.

Gordon Innes, CEO, London & Partners, the capital’s promotional agency for higher education, tourism and inward investment commented on the rankings,
“We are delighted that London remains the top destination for international students with seven universities listed in the top 200. London can not only offer international students the highest standard of education across a range of subjects, but also has a world class cultural offering and opportunities to engage with global brands and businesses.”

The seven universities in the top 200 are:
• Imperial College London (ranked 8)
• University College London (ranked 17)
• London School of Economics and Political Science (ranked 47)
• King’s College London (ranked 56)
• Royal Holloway, University of London (ranked 107)
• Queen Mary, University of London (ranked 127)
• Birkbeck, University of London (ranked 149)

London & Partners is continuing to proactively promote London’s universities and through a recently launch alumni programme, is identifying opportunities for students to access global businesses and provide support for those who wish to start their own business.

HBAA and Eventia unify education

Lead associations announce collaboration for education

HBAA and Eventia have announced collaboration in the field of education, recognising the individual strengths & benefits provided by each Association within this area.

The collaboration aims to extend and enhance the member benefits of both specialist industry bodies: the HBAA are renowned for delivering an excellent annual ‘Training programme’, while Eventia has succeeded in providing informative and popular “How To” seminars.

Speaking on behalf of the Eventia Education Committee, Alan Newton (Supply Chain Director, Grass Roots), advised,  “Despite the individuality of both Associations, there are some obvious areas of cross-over, where it made sense to open dialogue and enhance the benefits to members of both Associations.  Indeed, many organizations, including Grass Roots, are members of both Associations, gaining distinct benefit from membership of both.  Having previously served on the Board of the HBAA, I was aware of the strength & popularity of the training courses provided by the HBAA, a member benefit Eventia has been missing.”

Ellis Salsby (Managing Director, Ellis Salsby Ltd), commenting on behalf of the HBAA Academy advises, “Eventia provides excellent “How To” seminars & networking events, which we felt would provide HBAA members with enhanced benefits in the field of education that we have not previously offered.  There seems to be a natural fit in blending ‘training courses’ with ‘seminars’ and ‘networking’.  This will also continue to offer a wide range of development and training opportunities to members of both HBAA and Eventia.

Alan Newton, continued, “Why re-invent the wheel?  If Associations can recognise areas of common ground, collaboration will save time, money and provide greater choice.”

The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management Accredited in Australia and the UK

Dubai : The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management (EAHM), one of the world’s leading hospitality management schools and a part of the Dubai-based luxury hospitality company, Jumeirah Group, is now accredited in both Australia and the UK.

The International Centre of Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality Education (THE-ICE), an Australian-based accreditation body, has reviewed the curriculum, staffing and facilities and determined that EAHM has met their international benchmarks. All THE-ICE accredited institutions are highly regarded for their hospitality and tourism courses and EAHM has now joined the ranks of these institutions which include public and private universities from more than 10 different countries.

Earlier this year, EAHM was also accredited by the Institute of Hospitality (IOH) which is a UK-based accreditation body that promotes the highest professional standards of management and education in the international hospitality, leisure and tourism industries.  The IOH conducts extensive research into best practices in the industry and its review of EAHM’s study programmes led to the awarding of the accreditation.

Commenting on both accreditations, Ron Hilvert, Managing Director of EAHM, said: “Accreditations and quality assurances have become an integral part of our institutional review process.  We have been benchmarked against top hospitality schools by independent bodies in the UK and Australia and these accreditations are a further endorsement of the exceptional work done by our faculty, our students and our colleagues.”

As a result of the accreditations, The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management is now recognised by the higher education authorities in the UAE, UK and Australia.  In addition, the ongoing academic association with world-renowned hospitality school, Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, continues to enhance the quality of all study programmes.

MPI Commissions Comprehensive Global CSR Study

Leeds Metropolitan University to undertake multi-year research project
Dallas, TX – Meeting Professionals International (MPI) has commissioned Leeds Metropolitan University to manage a three year study into the importance and value of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to the meeting and event industry. This study, the most comprehensive of its kind ever undertaken, intends to bring new insights into how the meeting and event industry can build a sustainable future through best practices.
“Our goal is that this research initiative will provide our members and our professional colleagues around the world additional information and tools in practice, reporting and professional development,” said Didier Scaillet, MPI chief development officer, “We feel confident that our selection of Leeds for this effort will provide outstanding results.”

Academic researchers from the university’s three leading centres include the UK Centre for Events Management, International Centre for Responsible Tourism and the Centre for Hospitality. The centres will analyze global trends by interviewing top executives of major venues, organizations and suppliers, and event consumers worldwide.
“We are delighted to be have secured this opportunity to support MPI in its mission to lead industry and support its members and the sector to meet the demands of the future,” said Project Coordinator Jackie Mulligan, principal lecturer at UK Centre for Events Management, “CSR is a hot topic for businesses increasingly seeking to reduce the negative impacts of their activities and strengthen the positive contributions that events can offer.”

Given the breadth of the study which includes the need to involve a diverse range of stakeholders in the global hospitality and meeting industry, MPI will manage the progress of the study in conjunction with Leeds closely. The overall goal is to produce a detailed report against three core areas defined as external environment, industry engagement and consumer demand. MPI intends to release results in three phases at major global industry events in the United States, Asia and across Europe mid-2012 through 2013.
Research Director Dr. Xavier Font from the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) said, “We have an excellent track record in sustainability and responsibility related research that is making a real difference to businesses and communities globally. Our research will uncover how and why this subject is important and the growing concern for us all in achieving the triple bottom line, people, planet, profit”.
The launch of this research initiative is just one element of a major focus on CSR by MPI, made possible thanks to a US$500,000 investment in the MPI Foundation from InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). More information about MPI’s comprehensive efforts in sustainability and social responsibility can be found through the CSR portal at mpiweb.org

Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones

The IAPCO Seminar presented by Roslyn McLeod, MD, arinex ltd pty and Esther Assous, Events Manager, World LP Gas Association, drew a large and controversial audience on the topic of Insourcing or Outsourcing Conference Management.

Albeit a constant dilemma for Associations, “there is a common denominator” says Roslyn McLeod “which is where the glass house comes in.  PCOs are faced with the same challenge as associations and that is to find suitably talented staff.   Success”, she continued “depends on the talent of the appointed staff, their abilities and skills; the business sense of the Board and the direction/support received from management.  In other words all the stars need to be aligned to get the right outcome”.

“Clients are generally smart and committed but the role of conference management requires more than a willing attitude and hands, it requires expertise across a broad spectrum, which associations often lack” continues Esther Assous. “Part in-sourcing and part out-sourcing is, from our point of view, the best model, with our Association benefiting from the strengths of a Core PCO, who then works closely with their selected Local PCO.”

Committed to out-sourcing, Roslyn McLeod expanded on the advantages of the PCO company providing full services.  “The outsourced service has to draw upon a range of skills, such as management, communication and marketing, finance, logistics etc, to deliver the right product.  The PCO was born out of the need for an expertise to manage conferences, and conference management is a science, involving a number of different skills that are woven together to produce an end effect.”

Does the Association lose control by outsourcing to a PCO?  “If the partnership harnesses the combined skills of both parties it is a recipe for success” says Esther.

“There is a third option” commented Robert Harrison, Congrex Group “the half-way house, and that is embedding PCO staff in the office of the Association.  This way, one of the most difficult elements of in-house service, that of human resource, training, experience etc is covered by the PCO, but the Association still retains the personal interaction with their members by having that resource embedded with them”.

“One must remember that to many associations an event is not just “tacked on” to the work of the association, but is actually integrated into whole infrastructure.  It is incumbent on the association staff to be responsible in all aspects of the PCOs work” commented Charu Malik, Executive Director of the World Allergy Organization “But the embedding model is an interesting one”.

Is insourcing value for money?  How many Associations have done a true analysis to measure the real cost of managing the Association conference in-house?  How does it compare to outsourcing?  In the case of NfP Associations, what is the percentage of the Association overheads that is spent on insourcing conference management?  “The accepted maximum of a conference budget a PCO fee should be is 15% but it is often less.  How do the two compare?”   Roslyn McLeod threw out the challenge for accurate costings of in-house services and thus equitable cost comparisons.

Philippe Fournier summed up “Every group is different, as is every requirement.  Working across a number of different events provides the PCO with an innovative source of experience which is shared across clients.  It is just essential that the expectations are known and thus met, whether in-house or out-sourced.  But it must be recognised that PCOs increase the quality of an event, raising the bar, and attendees and stakeholders can expect this level of quality for their meetings.”

REED TRAVEL EXHIBITIONS TO SPONSOR EDUCATION AT 50TH ICCA CONGRESS LEIPZIG

Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) has announced that it is to sponsor the ICCA Education programme at the 50th annual conference in Leipzig this October.

With an anticipated audience of over 1000 senior delegates from the international meetings industry, this is an important anniversary and a milestone date.

“ RTE has been a long supporter and business partner of ICCA and as part of our global strategy in the very best professional education for the industry across the meetings & events portfolio on 5 continents, we are delighted to be sponsoring this anniversary education programme” says Craig Moyes, Group Exhibitions Director, global meetings and events portfolio for RTE.

“We’re delighted to welcome back Reed Travel Exhibitions as Strategic Partners for this year’s education programme. Their support has helped us create what we’re sure will be ICCA’s strongest and most innovative programme ever”, said Martin Sirk, ICCA CEO

ABTA HEALTH AND SAFETY PROGRAMME TRAINS 500 IN TURKEY

ABTA’s Destination Services Manager, Angie Hills, Donna Boucher ABTA Destination Services coordinator and Health & Safety expert Ian Greaves from IGI have returned from running a ten day health and safety seminar tour in Turkey’s most popular resorts.

The collaborative project, supported by the Turkish Tourist Office, Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Transport trained 500 hotel managers, food and beverage managers, transport companies and local authority personnel over ten seminars in the resorts of Antalya, Fethiye, Bodrum, Marmaris and Kusadasi between 13 and 23 May 2011.

The project involved delivering five seminars on accommodation health and safety and five transport seminars, all of which were simultaneously translated into Turkish.  The delegates were provided with copies of presentation material; and the FTO codes of practice in Turkish to encourage further training to be cascaded amongst accommodation and transportation staff and help their teams and other staff to ensure that best practice is spread as widely as possible.

Hotel personnel were trained in the areas of Food & Water, Swimming Pool Safety, Accommodation Safety, Fire Safety, and Security & Incident Management.

Transport delegates were taken through a new Transportation Code of Practice covering issues including vehicle quality, the selection of drivers, service maintenance, driver hours and emergency procedures. Delegates were taken through a desk top assessment so that systems used by transport companies can be tested and safety monitored effectively.

Angie Hills, ABTA’s Destination Manager said: “We are very grateful for the support of the Turkish Authorities for our seminar programme, as it demonstrates the commitment Turkey has to ensure that their tourism products are of high standards. By promoting good practice, seminars such as these will help to ensure that holidaymakers from all over the world will get a great holiday in Turkish resorts.”

Mr Tolga Tuyluoglu Director of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office said: “We were very excited to work with ABTA on this programme to raise awareness and increase understanding of health and safety issues in the Turkish tourism industry and we would also like to take the opportunity to thank the Hoteliers Association which helped us organise the events. We look forward to continuing the co-operation in the future.”

On behalf of Members, ABTA works proactively with hoteliers, suppliers, destination municipalities and Governments around the world to improve Public health, infrastructure, and safety of the environment, which is beneficial for both customers and local populations

The ECM Summer School will celebrate its ‘silver anniversary’ in Cracow

European Cities Marketing will be staging its renowned ECM Summer School between August 27-31 2011. This is the 25th edition and, as such, it will be a very special ‘quarter of a century’ anniversary. Cracow, Poland, will be the host, and the participants will have an excellent opportunity to see the city and experience its unique heritage and culture.

The ECM Summer School meets the training and personal development needs of those pursuing careers in the global meetings industry. It is especially relevant for ‘up and coming’ professionals and those researching the economic potential of business tourism as a tool of urban economic development. Uniquely, it brings students face to face with leading industry practitioners and commentators, with the scope and content of the programme reflecting latest trends and new technologies and practices.

Pier Paolo Mariotti, Meeting Manager of EURAC Convention Center in Bolzano, Italy, hosted the 23rd Summer School in 2009. In 2010, he became the new Course Director of the ECM Summer School.
“Being the Course Director in the same year that the event celebrates its 25^th anniversary is a great privilege and is exciting! To mark this anniversary, we asked former students of the Summer School to become our ambassadors – living testimonials to the uniqueness and quality of the event. This exercise alerted us to how illustrious and diversified were the current profiles of our Summer School graduates. For instance, Meeli Jaaksoo is now the Convention Manager of the Tallinn City Tourist Office & Convention Bureau, Roland Pinnel is CEO of the Luxembourg City Tourist Office, Hilda Farago is Secretary General of the National Tourism Board of Hungary, Zlatan Mufticis Product Manager of the Zagreb Tourist Board, and Krzysztof Celuch is CEO the of Poland National Tourist Office- the list is almost endless.

The Summer School has now been in existence for 25 years, and this bears testimony to the enduring need it is fulfilling. We will all do our utmost to ensure it continues well into the future by maintaining the highest standard of course content, retaining and recruiting the very best of speakers, and giving up-to-date examples showcasing latest trends in the meeting industry ”, says Pier Paolo Mariotti.

ECM will organise a press conference focusing on the 25^th Summer School on May 25^th 2h30 pm at IMEX in Frankfurt.

Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management Signs Agreement with Beijing Hospitality Institute

Dubai April, 2011: The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, one of the world’s leading hospitality management schools and part of Jumeirah Group, recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Beijing Hospitality Institute.

The agreement establishes an academic exchange programme between The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management and Beijing Hospitality Institute – a specialist university certified by the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL). The agreement provides study abroad programmes for students, faculty exchanges, academic cooperation and programmes for the development of young talent in the hospitality industry.

Commenting on the new partnership between the two universities, Ron Hilvert, Managing Director of the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, said: “We are delighted to celebrate this joint collaboration as it will give students the invaluable experience of both academic as well as professional life in two thriving destinations. And we look forward to receiving the first set of student from Beijing in the next academic year”

Gao Songtao, President of the Beijing Hospitality Institute added, “This agreement brings academic alignment between two organisations focused on delivering consistently high standards in the hospitality sector. It is a big win for our students, our teaching staff and ultimately hotel companies around the world.”

In March 2011 Jumeirah Group opened its first property in China, the five-star luxury Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel in the Pudong area of Shanghai. The company has a further five properties under development in Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Sanya, Macau and Qiandaohu.

Top Five Preliminary Findings Shaping Major Research Project by MPI

Business Value of Meetings research revealed at AIBTM unlike previous studies

Initial findings from an intensive 18-month study into the business value of meetings and best practices amongst industry professionals around the world are yielding unique findings that will shape not only the study report, but also future content development on this topic.

Chief researcher and president of Association Insights, Bill Voegeli said, “Initially we started this research with the intent to harvest best practices and identify trends. What we’re finding is essentially a lot of perceived challenges into what it takes to effectively and efficiently measure the business value of meetings and events.”

The top five preliminary findings:
· Very few companies have a formal strategy for measurement
· Companies who are measuring are relying on traditional satisfaction surveys and are not beginning with design concepts and clear objectives
· There are significant differences and definitions between North America, Asia and Europe
· Most planners perceive good measurement is too complicated or expensive
· Measures vary by meeting type: educational, sales, networking etc.

Because of these early findings, the design of the research report is shifting from more traditional data-centric studies like the recently released US Economic Impact Study, and will focus more on case studies, identifying variances in practices by business region and suggested solutions for best practices that essentially turn the research into a useful guide for the future.
Meeting Professionals International (MPI <http://www.mpiweb.org/Education/BVOM/bvomtl> ) intends to reveal the entire study at AIBTM <http://www.aibtm.com/>  in Baltimore June 21-23. Educational sessions presented by Voegeli at AIBTM will leverage interviews, examples and detailed information gained from hundreds of personal interviews with professionals tackling this challenging topic.
“We are delighted to be funding such a critical and forward thinking piece of research on a global basis, the values of which unite our ownership of the industry from a global perspective, and we are delighted that AIBTM will be the first event where such detail is provided,” said Steve Knight, AIBTM Project Director.

For more information on the Business Value of Meeting initiative, made possible by AIBTM’s three-year investment with the MPI Foundation, its deliverables already in market, and other tools for meeting professionals, visit mpiweb.org/bvom.

Local Airport helps Local Students to a Flying Start!

The London City Airport University Prize Scheme (UPS), which aims to increase management potential within local boroughs, is now inviting applications from students for 2011. London City Airport is seeking young people who are planning to start university in September 2011 and are studying a subject relevant to the airport business, such as transport, tourism, business, geography or languages.

The Scheme provides financial assistance, management mentors and annual paid work placements to local students selected to join the scheme which is advertised annually.   Since the programme started in 2004 the Airport has awarded 20 students from Newham, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich grants of more than £150,000 in total. In addition to a £2,000 annual grant and an Airport Management Mentor, students also benefit from paid work experience each year in departments around the Airport to gain a better understanding of the business and its operations.

Sean O’Shea a Newham resident Studying Politics & International Relations at the University of Exeter currently on the scheme said, “The University Prize Scheme has been a great introduction to the world of aviation and business. It has not only helped support me financially through my course at University but has also given me an extremely useful insight into the world of travel and business and helped me to decide which career I would like to pursue after graduation”.

For further information about the University Prize Scheme or to request an application pack please contact Rupal Patel, Community Relations Executive on (020) 7646 0041 or via email at rupal.patel@londoncityairport.com .

Applicants must live in the London Boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets or Greenwich and be in receipt of Education Maintenance Allowance.  Closing date for completed applications is Tuesday 31 May 2011.

The International School of Hospitality Announces Five Week Summer Studies Program in Las Vegas, Nevada

5-week summer hospitality certificate programs in event planning, meeting planning, wedding planning, concierge, hotel operations and human resources. Offered in Las Vegas, featuring small classes, practical learning, networking and site visits.

Hospitality summer programs at TISOH are practical, involve distinguished industry professionals, and use Las Vegas as a learning laboratory.

The International School of Hospitality (TISOH) announced the availability of 5-week summer certificate programs in the hospitality capital of the USA, Las Vegas. Participants can choose from Conference Management & Event Planning, Wedding Coordination & Design, Art of Concierge, Hotel Operations and Hospitality Human Resources. Classes start May 16th for HR, July 25th for Concierge and July 11th for all other programs. The TISOH campus located at 3614 E. Sunset Road in Las Vegas, just minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip and McCarran Airport.

As with all TISOH programs, the courses are taught by credentialed industry professionals featuring practical learning beyond the annals of academia. Participants leave with a solid background of study in their chosen fields, enjoy extensive networking and immersive learning.

Summer at TISOH involves half a day of learning in a classroom setting, on site visits as well as listening to lectures from guest speakers. The remainder of the day is spent working on practical projects, engaging in externships or in simply enjoying all that the city has to offer. Housing is available to participants.

With the participation of professionals from the dynamic hospitality industry in Las Vegas, students will learn from those involved in the largest tradeshow destination in the country, one of the world’s most popular destination wedding locales, a city with over 148,000 hotel rooms, and 250,000 resort employees.

Admission is open to local, out of state and international students. For more information on the school, please go to http://www.tisoh.com.

EIBTM LAUNCHES EDUCATION ON DEMAND

EIBTM (www.eibtm.com) is set to release a selection of key educational seminars available to watch online via EIBTM TV. The project is part of EIBTM’s ongoing commitment to providing valuable education and support to meetings professionals on the run up to EIBTM 2011.

Over the next three weeks EIBTM will deliver 13 thought provoking seminars focusing on key industry topics. All seminars are free and instant to access and create an opportunity for those who missed the EIBTM 2010 education programme or were not able to attend EIBTM – to view each seminar at their leisure.

The first five seminars to be released will include The EIBTM 2010 Industry Trends & Market Share Report, delivered by Rob Davidson, providing the latest research findings into the conference and incentive industry.

Additional seminars will uncover insider strategies to bringing meetings to the United States; observe a panel discussion on Meeting Architecture, debating factors that contribute to learning and motivation; and much more. Each seminar is dedicated to expanding the scope of EIBTM beyond the show floor and engaging with the Meetings and Events Industry.

EIBTM TV will also show a series of education seminars delivered in Spanish and dedicated to the local Meetings and Events community in Spain. The topics addressed in this portfolio will be: Technology within Your Reach to do More with Less; Creativity in Events, in association with MPI Spanish Chapter; and Creative Catering: The Magic of Events.

Graeme Barnett, EIBTM Exhibition Director comments: “Ensuring the EIBTM brand extends beyond the formal three day experience in Barcelona is vital to sustain and build our engagement with the global meetings industry. By using online TV, we have been able to capture and distribute key educational content to meetings industry professionals worldwide. Releasing this content free and online gives meeting professionals the opportunity to learn in a flexible environment of their own choice.

EIBTM has a reputation for delivering the industry’s best professional education – it’s one of the core brand values of our global portfolio of meetings events – and we see it as being integral in driving the development of Meetings and Events industry forward”.

To view the first five seminars and additional information on how to access the next available seminar online please visit: www.eibtm.com/onlineeducation.

EIBTM 2011 takes places 29th November – 1st December 2011, Barcelona.

Join EIBTM on Linked in, Twitter and Facebook.

ETC-UNWTO Joint International Seminar on Tourism Product Development

12-13 May 2011, Dublin, Ireland

The European Travel Commission (ETC), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Fáilte Ireland have the pleasure of inviting you to attend the ETC-UNWTO Joint International Seminar on Tourism Product Development, which will be held in Dublin, Ireland on 12-13 May 2011.

This practical seminar will provide you an overview of the soon to be published ETC & UNWTO Handbook on Tourism Product Development.  The handbook’s authors will take you through the fundamentals and principles of tourism product development, followed by an overview of the various steps involved in the tourism product development process.  This will be followed by a number of international ‘best practice’ case studies.  This is also a unique opportunity to benefit first-hand from the experience of the Handbook’s authors, Tourism Development International (TDI).

Deadline for registration: 26 April, 2011

Details of the Seminar (programme, registration document) can be found on our corporate website, under the following link:

http://www.etc-corporate.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=244

Participate in the Industry’s Top-rated Educational Experience

The 2011 Global Education Conference in New York City, 10-12 April will feature top-level education on each day, including keynote presentations addressing macro-level issues impacting business and society, and education sessions offering seek and find opportunities that put you in the driver’s seat, engaging directly with thought leaders and subject matter experts.

	The Games We Play: Using Games to Influence Consumer Behavior Jesse Schell Chief Executive Officer / Creative Director Schell Games
	Business & Management Lessons from SUPERFREAKONOMICS Stephen J. Dubner Author Freakonomics, Superfreakonomics
	What’s New, What’s Coming, and How It Will Change Everything David Pogue Personal Technology Columnist The New York Times

Universities Go Global With Travelex

LONDON, March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Recognised globally for its specialist Education payment solution and sector expertise, Travelex Global Business Payments, the world’s cross-border payments specialist, has recently accelerated its international presence in the Higher Education sector and now works with over 300 Universities worldwide, across the four continents in which it operates.

Travelex Global Business Payments works with 60% of the UK Universities in the Times Higher Education’s World University Ranking[1], including the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London School of Economics. In Australia, Travelex works alongside the Universities of Melbourne and Sydney, two of the top three Universities in the United States, four of the top 10 Universities in Canada and a leading University in France.

Comments David Sear, Global Managing Director at Travelex Global Business Payments, “Managing student fee payments should be simple but in many cases, they can be time consuming and costly.

“Travelex Global Business Payments is the only global payments provider that employs specialist staff to work exclusively alongside our education clients, ensuring that customers’ requirements are always exceeded. We estimate that the average University, with an intake of around 400 overseas students, could save GBP50,000 a year in fee processing costs by adopting Travelex payment solutions.[2] Travelex Global Business Payments offers a truly competitive service that is based on its long history and expertise in the sector.”

One eminent Travelex Global Business Payments’ client, the University of Oxford, comments: “The Travelex Global Business Payments system has greatly improved the service we are able to offer both students and collegiate university staff at Oxford. Since March 2008, we have been using the service to expedite the processing of US dollar student loan cheques, which therefore enables students to access funds for living expenses and tuition fees much more quickly and efficiently. The GlobalPay database is userfriendly and quick, and the Travelex Global Business Payments team have been a pleasure to work with from the outset.”

ASTA Webinar Helps Agents Capitalize on Medical Tourism Trend

Alexandria, Va., Feb. 7, 2011- According to the Medical Tourism Association and Deloitte, an international accounting and consulting firm, as many as 1.6 million Americans could be traveling in 2012 for medical tourism and spending billions of dollars in the process. To help its members capitalize on the growing trend of medical tourism, ASTA is offering a Webinar “Should You Be in the Medical Travel Business?” on Feb. 17, from 2 p.m. to 3p.m. EST.

“Medical travel, where patients leave home and often the country for care, is a growing industry and anticipated to be an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars by 2012,” said ASTA President and Chair Chris Russo. “Unlike other specialty travel products, however, there are significant issues with providing medical travel services to patients. Learning about these issues-such as through our upcoming Webinar-and understanding the issues and how to deal with them, will allow travel agents to explore a new and highly profitable niche.”

This Webinar will discuss the issues concerning this growing segment of the travel business, whether it’s the right move for an agent or agency to make and how to make the niche a profitable one. The Webinar will be presented by Arlen D Meyers, MD, MBA, a professor of Otolaryngology, Dentistry and Engineering at the University of Colorado-Denver and Health Sciences Center. Meyers is the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer for MedVoy Inc., a global healthcare medical tourism company, and president and Chief Medical Officer of CareConnectrix, a global healthcare social network.

To register, click here.

Don’t want to pay the £9,000 tuition fee for English universities? Five options to study abroad and save money

Figures released from UCAS this week have shown that a record 583,501 people have applied to start university in the UK this year, as new students attempt to avoid the tuition fee increase in England which is due to come into effect in 2012.

However, Skyscanner suggests that enrolling this year isn’t the only way to save money; choosing to study abroad may also be a cheaper option, especially when cost of living is taken into account.

Bangalore, India

Thanks to India’s flourishing technology industries, there are many institutions offering courses in IT and computer sciences, such as the Indian Institute of Science in the region of Karnataka – known as the ‘Silicon Valley of Asia’. With great value flights to India, average annual tuition fees of around £230 and the second lowest cost of living in the world, India is an excellent choice for the tech-minded.

Beijing, China

Learning to speak Mandarin can now often yield lucrative career options for Brits looking to work in the booming Chinese economy. Beijing’s Chinese Language Education School offers a range of courses including General, Business and Intensive Chinese starting from £2,700 per year, which more than makes up for Beijing’s cost of living which now ranks alongside London. Find flights to Beijing

Porto, Portugal

Over 200 million people speak Portugese worldwide, and the historic University of Porto is where around 2,000 international students choose to complete higher education each year while picking up the local lingo. A year’s tuition fees for an average Undergraduate Business course are £850, and a month’s rent on campus only £150 – far cheaper than the UK. Find flights to Porto

Leuven, Belgium

The University of Leuven in Belgium attracts many students from the UK due its high level of English speaking staff and students. Although Belgium has a similar cost of living to the UK, tuition fees often come in cheaper with courses such as Master of Advanced Studies in Economics starting at £1200 per year and others like Master of Restorative Dentistry around £4700 per year. Find flights to Brussles

Bangkok, Thailand

Thailand’s capital has a wealth of international academic institutions from which to choose from, including Bangkok University which offers a Business English BA for a three-year course fee of £6,600. Although living costs in Thailand are among the cheapest in the world – Bangkok is around half the price of London - flights to Bangkok can be pricey, so you may not want to visit home at the end of every semester.

Site members and industry friends are invited to be inspired by the city of art and history: Florence, Italy

Today’s business needs creativity, so let your creativity, initiative, and originality flow in the birthplace of the Renaissance. Set the dates of 17–19 March in your diaries and plan to meet in the heart of Tuscany at the beautiful Hotel Baglioni.

Developed by Site Europe members, the Site EMEA Forum will hold a special focus on the business needs, perspectives and trends of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. A proud Site Italy Chapter along with Florence Convention Bureau and destination partners have planned a program that will challenge your thinking and provide valuable ideas you can take back to your office and client conversations.

• Keynote speaker: Jonathan Margolis is a British journalist who had won a clutch of journalism awards in the UK, and is also an accomplished and polished TV and radio guest. His keynote at a convention in Rome was hailed as “…the highlight of our 3 days. He is knowledgeable, original, smart, accessible — and very funny.”
• Panel: A buyers’ panel will share experiences and give insights as to their needs.
• Debate: A new format for Site events, where topics will be debated allowing much interaction and fun!
• Breakouts: We will offer a number of breakout sessions, some being repeated, allowing delegates to attend 3 or 4 breakouts over the two days. Breakout topics will include:
  • Motivation Triggers across Borders
  • Sustainable Events
  • Social Media
  • Effective Communications
  • Business Model that Bucks the Trend
• Special Programs: Site Young Leaders will have the opportunity to connect and Chapter Leaders will hold a spring Leadership Meeting.

Annual Seminar rises to the occasion

“One of the best organised seminars in terms of content, lecture and attendees, I’ve been to” said participant J. A. Lohmar, Managing Director of Axica Kongress- u. Tagungszentrum.     Said another enthusiastic attendee “Knowledge, Networking, Friendship and Fun”, the essential ingredients for a successful seminar.

60 participants, the maximum number permitted by IAPCO, attended the 5-day concentrated course, bringing the total intake to over 1800 over the past 37 years.   Of the 23 countries represented, 20 % of the participants were from outside Europe, with Lebanon represented for the first time.

New topics, by popular request, included sessions on Stress Management, Sustainability and Data Management.  The Closing Keynote, combining the new Meetings Masterclass with the Annual Seminar participants, was presented by Peter Fisk, The Genius Works, challenging the PCO to rise to the changes of the 2020 meetings industry.

88% of the participants asked said that they would, or hoped to, return to Wolfsberg for the Meetings Masterclass, held in parallel.   Stated one participant: “The Wolfsberg seminar provides the best platform for knowledge and experience exchange across all parties of the meetings industry”.

ACTE AND WTFL TO TACKLE TRAVEL INDUSTRY WAR ON TALENT IN JOINT INITIATIVE

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) is to team up with the World Tourism Forum Lucerne in an initiative to tackle the war for talents in the travel industry.

The World Tourism Forum is to embark on two major research studies amongst university level students analyzing expectations and beliefs around how the travel industry will attract, recruit and retain the travel professionals of tomorrow. The two pieces of research will dovetail into the two ACTE initiatives announced last autumn in Berlin – “Around The World in 80 Hours» and the «3 under 33» campaigns.

The results of the research will be used by both organisations, through a joint initiative, to create a practical programme to address the issues and challenges raised.

The first piece of research will be undertaken by the World Tourism Forum in conjunction with Korn/Ferry International, the world’s largest recruiting firm, and will focus on talent management in tourism, travel and hospitality companies. The findings will be presented at the World Tourism Forum Lucerne (13-15th April 2011). Simultaneously, the World Tourism Forum is working with PricewaterhouseCoopers to analyze retention strategies and student expectations on reward and commitment from tourism, travel and hospitality companies. The results will also be unveiled at the World Tourism Forum Lucerne in April.

Professor Martin Barth, General Manager World Tourism Forum Lucerne commented the joint initiative as follows: “As world economies emerge from the current recessions we know that industry will face a different landscape and perhaps the most dramatic changes will be seen in the world of recruitment and retention of human resource. A new war for talent will commence and expectations of employees may well be different from the past. The purpose of the research is to highlight the challenges, find solutions and then, with our partners, ACTE, help the travel industry meet those challenges head on”.

Ron DiLeo, Executive Director, ACTE added: “ACTE has identified that the area of recruitment and staff retention into the business travel sector is perhaps the single biggest challenge our sector faces. Our «3 under 33» initiative is specifically designed to recognise the talent emerging and to harness it for the good of the sector. While the «Around The World in 80 Hours» project is our strategy to work in unison with the top educational establishments around the globe to enhance the recruitment process in the business travel sector. We are delighted to be working with the World Tourism Forum and I look forward to seeing the results of the research in the spring”.

ACTE Chairman, Chris Crowley added: “ACTE is keen to work with like minded organisations in meeting the very real challenges facing the business travel field. In cooperation with World Tourism Forum Lucerne we believe we can add real value and provide practical solutions to the challenges facing the sector”.

Tourism guru Eddie Friel crosses the pond to Bulgaria to deliver major European address

Keynote speaker at European Cities Marketing’s forthcoming seminar in Sofia is distinguished city marketer and renowned presenter, writer, broadcaster and consultant – Professor Eddie Friel OBE.

Friel will headline the ECM seminar whose theme is “Financing Europe’s City Tourist Offices and Convention Bureaux – Threats, Opportunities and Solutions”. No stranger to controversy, he will confront an audience of Europe’s leading city tourism chiefs with his views as to whether or not their organisations are really needed in today’s fast-changing world, as city tourist offices and convention bureaux face budget cuts, steepening competition from third party intermediaries, and the challenge of how best to respond to the rise of social media and mobile communications.

Eddie Friel is a native of Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and his illustrious, nearly forty year experience as a city marketer is reflected in numerous accolades, including in 2004 the award of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Scottish tourism.  In particular, between 1983-2004, Friel masterminded Glasgow’s transformation into one of Britain’s leading tourism destinations, pioneering the concept of public-private partnership in city tourism, pace-setting arts and events-led tourism strategies, and the development of electronic bidding documents in the conventions sector.

Eddie Friel is currently “Expert in Residence” at the Hospitality and Research Centre at Niagara University, New York, and is President and CEO of his own consultancy business: EFA Tourism & City Marketing. He is an advisor to a number of municipalities and state agencies in New York State and Ontario, Canada.

The ECM seminar will take place on Thursday 17^th March 2011 at the National Palace of Culture, Sofia. Results of a comprehensive survey into the financing of city tourist offices and convention bureau will be released directly after Eddie Friel’s keynote.

Other speakers at the seminar include: Philippe Vignon, Managing Director, Geneva Tourism; Pere Duran, General Manager, Barcelona Turisme; Stefan Diender, Managing Director, Amsterdam Tourism and Convention Board; and Burkhard Kieker, CEO, Berlin Tourism Marketing.

Pier Paolo Mariotti: New Course Director for ECM Summer School

Pier Paolo Mariotti, Meeting Manager of EURAC Convention Center in Bolzano, Italy, is the new Course Director of ECM Summer School.

Before becoming the Course Director, Pier Paolo Mariotti had already been part of the ECM Summer School’s faculty, helping to shape up course content and becoming one of its speakers, emphasising the importance of the green agenda and the necessity for green events and their pivotal significance for the future development of the tourism and meetings industry. In 2009, he also hosted the 23^rd Summer School in 2009 in the city of Bolzano, Italy.

Pier Paolo Mariotti takes over the course leadership of the ECM Summer School from Elisabeth Hansa, Managing director at Europeum Mariazell. She had served as Course Director for the last 3 years.

“I am extremely pleased and honoured to have the opportunity to be the new Course Director, but it is also a great challenge. In 2011 we are organising the 25^th Summer School. This is a quarter of a century and in its own right this says a lot about the quality of this event. The faculty of ECM Summer School is very strong… and you don’t change your horse if you have the winning one. Of course, there are other aspects; the times are changing, the industry is developing, there are new technologies and media. The needs of students change accordingly and our task is to keep up and be ready to fulfil their expectations. There is one thing, in particular, I would like to focus on in the future – to involve the participants in a more active manner, giving them the opportunity to express their experience and to help them present their ideas in front of a large public of colleagues and professionals.”, says Pier Paolo Mariotti.

Gates foundation announces Next Generation Learning Challenges to improve education through technology

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced the Next Generation Learning Challenges, a collaborative, multi-year initiative, which aims to help dramatically improve college readiness and college completion in the U.S. through the use of technology.

The program will provide grants to organizations and innovators to expand promising technology tools to more students, teachers, and schools. It is led by nonprofit, EDUCAUSE, which works to advance higher education through the use of information technology.

“American education has been the best in the world, but we’re falling below our own high standards of excellence for high school and college attainment,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“We’re living in a tremendous age of innovation. We should harness new technologies and innovation to help all students get the education they need to succeed.”

Next Generation Learning Challenges invites proposals from technologists and institutions within the education community, but also innovators and entrepreneurs outside the traditional education arena that can show promising results.

EIBTM 2010 EDUCATION PROGAMME OFFERS BEST EVER SOURCE OF INSPIRATION, LEARNING & INFORMATION

EIBTM’s cutting edge professional education programme comprises a comprehensive and diverse series of seminars, workshops and conferences, addresses the latest issues and meetings industry hot topics, underlying the event’s commitment to raising industry standards and encouraging learning and development.

This year’s programme, running throughout the event from 30th November to 2nd December at the Fira Gran Via, Barcelona, includes over 40 sessions, with a number of new features and highlights led by renowned industry experts. All of the Education Programme seminars will be evaluated by an online survey, facilitated by MeetingMetrics.

One of the highlights is the annual EIBTM 2010 Industry & Market Share Report session run by Rob Davidson on the show’s opening day, and repeated on the final day. This year, EIBTM is producing a new piece of research, complementing the Industry & Market Share Report, which surveys Planners, Tourist Offices and Convention Bureaux about their business over the past twelve months, their challenges, future perceptions, opportunities, influences of choice of location and business predictions for the next 12 months.

A new Lecture Theatre, provided by ACS audiovisual solutions, on the show floor will have Daily Technology Hours enabling visitors to keep up-to-date with the latest technological advances in the industry. Topics include crisis management and managing event interruptions, and effective use of mobile technology for meetings. Also in the Theatre, a series of daily Spanish seminars has been designed together with MPI Spain for the local market. The sessions will be delivered in Spanish and will include topics such as workplace coaching, creative catering, ROI in event communication and recruiting and building member loyalty.

Another new feature is The Green Room, a seminar area dedicated to sustainability, featuring ‘bite-sized’ panel discussions, workshops and case studies, the sessions will highlight up to date issues affecting sustainability in the meetings industry. Subject areas include implementing and measuring best practices, as well as reporting and communicating initiatives.

The keynote session on the opening day, Brand Leverage – Challenge Assumptions to Strengthen the Output will focus on branding. Pharmaceutical marketing consultant Lisa Hansen and creative director Phil Staff from Brandivity will demonstrate, from both client and agency perspectives, how the theory actually works in reality.

A Women in Business session, Succeeding as a Female Entrepreneur will take visitors through vision and goal setting, building business networks and individuals as a brand, challenges and solutions, and motivation and balancing work-life issues.

On the final day of the show, Peter Pecotic, founding and managing director of Turningpoint Solutions and Daniel Tschudy, renowned expert on global issues in the meetings, event, sports and tourism communities, will focus on China. The session will take attendees through key tips and insights, as well as providing valuable case studies for those considering China for their next Meetings event.

The education programme will also feature sessions in conjunction with the Association, Corporate and Agency Programmes, which cater specifically to Hosted Buyers. Association sessions will address key issues including: future membership models; maximising results when negotiating with destinations and venues; improving participant experience and learning preferences.

Devised for meeting planners from corporate organisations, the Corporate Programme seminars will look at the myths, challenges and opportunities of strategic meetings management and increasing the value of meetings.

The Agency Programme seminar, which will be repeated over two days of the show is specially designed for agency staff, conference organisers and independent meeting planners. This year’s session will consider the value of meetings and how agencies can stay relevant in changing times.

Erica Keogan, EIBTM’s Education Content Manager said: “We are committed to developing stimulating multi-faceted event experiences that go far beyond the show floor. Hosted Buyers and trade visitors to EIBTM will have access to a world-class, comprehensive education programme, specifically geared to helping them focus on the issues that directly impact their sector, while also giving them practical pointers on how to maintain, develop and attract business.

Every year we add new content and hope that the knowledge gained through attending the education programme at EIBTM will have a direct impact on the running and success of their business.”

All education programme sessions are free to attend and the general seminars are open to all. Sessions in conjunction with the Association, Corporate and Agency programmes are open only to Hosted Buyers and places must be pre-booked.

For further information, please visit www.eibtm.com

ACTE Develops Formal Certification Programme

Once certified, individuals will receive a kit that includes everything they need to start their own practice, including business cards and customisable presentation templates. They will also be given a link on the ACTE website where they can showcase their credentials and ACTE certification.

“There are a lot of people in varying stages of their careers who aspire to going out on their own but don’t know where to start,” says ACTE executive director Ron DiLeo. “Conversely, we get calls regularly from travel managers and buyers looking for consultants with specific technical skills.”

The association believes that the Consultants’ Corner will also attract new talent to the travel industry. “While larger firms don’t typically get involved directly in travel management projects, it’s not uncommon for their work to affect their clients’ travel programmes,” says DiLeo. “With the Consultants’ Corner, these firms now have a place to shop for sub-contractors.”

The Consultants’ Corner programme is set to launch in the first quarter of 2011.

ACTE to Launch University Accredited Learning Programme

Around the World in 80 Hours comprises 80 hours of classroom work together with two to three days visiting local areas of interest.

“It is true immersion learning,” says ACTE executive director Ron DiLeo. “Students learn about the market while being out there, in it.”

Markets included in the programme are the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, the Nordics, Russia, South Africa, India, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Canada and the United States.

Participants will be able to select programmes for one or two countries at a time, which ACTE believes is a realistic option for full-time travel managers/buyers, sales managers or account managers looking to expand their skills.

Alternatively, says DiLeo, university students may choose to study the entire programme: “We are hopeful that in addition to helping people already in our industry to broaden their horizons, we will also be taking great strides toward attracting new talent to the travel business.”

The Around the World in 80 Hours programme will be repeated twice a year, in spring and autumn, and will start in autumn 2011 in Singapore.

A Revolution in Student Electronic Ticketing Launches in Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM, England, October 4, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — sQuid, the eMoney payments provider, together with smartcard ticketing company MoFlow, has launched an online ticketing scheme for Midlands events company Vodbull UK.

Vodbull Ranger Cards are contactless smartcards that are sold preloaded with electronic tickets to some of the largest student events in Birmingham. Venues include Luminar Leisure’s Superclub Oceana, Gatecrasher Birmingham and Walkabout bars. Once a card is registered, students are able to purchase tickets for future events online. To gain entry to an event students simply present their smartcard to a contactless reader, which will indicate to door staff the number of tickets purchased.

sQuid has been creating cashless payment solutions in educational campuses for some time, however this is the first ticketing scheme that they have introduced. Dominic Pope, from sQuidcard, said “This is a great opportunity for sQuid to expand our cashless payments solution, and we are very excited to be working with MoFlow and Vodbull UK on this innovative new scheme.”

There are plans to expand this scheme in the future to allow students to budget their whole night out, including paying for taxis, food and drink using their sQuid enabled Vodbull Ranger Card.

Mathew Johnson, from MoFlow, said, “Vodbull UK are the first of our clients to make use of the sQuid eTicketing solution and we look forward to working with them in the future”.

Andrew Grierson, Events & Operations Manager at Vodbull, said, “We are very pleased to be working with sQuid and MoFlow on such an innovative and promising scheme. We are certain this will be very popular with the students because of the reduced queuing times and ease of use. It will really help students budget for a night out”

24th ECM Summer School: It’s getting better all the time!

The 24^th ECM Summer School was hosted by the city of Tampere, Finland, from 28^th August to 1^st September 2010.

46 participants made a beeline this year for Tampere to take part in the meetings industry’s leading professional development programme.

The ECM Summer School curriculum is tailor-made to cover all sectors of the conference industry (convention bureaux, tourist offices, congress and convention centres, hotels, airlines, DMCs, PCOs and Meeting Planners). It provides a unique opportunity to meet top industry practitioners  and to learn from them – about trends in the marketplace, about the structure of the convention business, and above all about how to win business and pursue a successful career in one of the most dynamic and commercial sectors of the tourist industry.

Christian Mutschlechner, Director of Vienna’s award winning convention bureau homed in on how best to bid for the lucrative and prestigious international meetings which have become the hallmark of the Austrian capital, while Airy Garrigosa, Convention Director of Barcelona Convention Bureau, showed how the structure and functioning of her department had helped to establish Barcelona as one of the world’s premier meetings destinations. Olivier Lépine, ECM Vice – President, drew on his experience in Biarritz to emphasise the need for long-term planning and to woo the local politicians Other speakers gave delegates practical insights and tips on their association and corporate clients, how to make best use of exhibitions and the ICCA data base, and how to work effectively with intermediaries and media.

The scope and content of the ECM Summer School also leads the way in terms of highlighting best practice in green meetings and industry sustainability.

Elisabeth Hansa, Course Director and Director of the Congress Centre Mariazeller Europeum, says: “Our aim is not only to maintain the exceptionally high quality of ECM Summer School but to improve it every year. Each time we bring an innovation. This year, we restructured the educational content in a more interactive manner and also the setup of the presentations was adjusted to this purpose. As far as the speakers are concerned, we had the honour to welcome two new faculty members – Julia Hof, the Editor of CIM magazine, and Luca Favetta, Senior Director of Global Events EMEA SAP SA.”

The next ECM Summer School will take place in Cracow, Poland, from 27^th to 31^st August 2011.

Oracle OpenWorld 2010. It all starts here.

Oracle OpenWorld is the world’s largest and most important conference for Oracle technologists, business users, and partners. This annual gathering is the best place to meet live and in person with experts, enthusiasts, business leaders, and innovators from every industry around the globe to network, learn, and celebrate your role in the technology that runs your business.

With more than 1,800 sessions, 400 partner exhibits, almost 400 Oracle demos, keynotes from the world’s technology leaders, hands-on labs, several special networking events, and more, Oracle OpenWorld San Francisco is best to find relevant, useful information about how to use technology to drive your business forward.

Oracle is transforming the industry with a complete technology stack, from applications to disk, engineered to work together. And Oracle OpenWorld is your chance not only to hear Oracle’s strategy and roadmap from the experts who are engineering the products but to gain firsthand experience with the hardware and software built to optimize your business from end to end.

Five days of education. Insights and connections that will transform your career—and your business.

World Travel Market announces Technology and Online Travel seminar line up

British Airways, lastminute.com, Google, Yahoo! and Wayn all to speak at WTM 2010

World Travel Market, the premier global event for the travel industry, has expanded its Technology and Online Travel  event programme with a number of leading organisations taking part including British Airways, lastminute.com, TUI Travel, Google, Yahoo! and WAYN.

The comprehensive seven-session programme, organised by travel technology consultancy Genesys, takes place over Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 November covering all aspects of technology and online travel including social media, mobile technology and search engine marketing.

British Airways Manager BA.com & Mobile Innovations Chris Carmichael and lastminute.com Head of Innovation Marko Balabanovic will answer the question Does Mobile Matter? on Tuesday 9 November.

They are joined on the panel by user centred design consultancy cxpartners Manager Director Giles Colborne and marketing consultancy Crosscap Chief Marketing Officer Kerry Harris.

Where Are You Now (WAYN) Director Jerome Touze will talk about the social media revolution and how travel companies can capitalise on facebook, twitter, Youtube, blogs and other digital platforms.

On Wednesday 9 November Tui Travel Director Web Strategy & Business Development Sandra Leonhard gives her expert advice on website content in the session Customers Need Content she will be joined by Frommer’s Unlimited, EMEA Director, Giles Longhurst.

Furthermore, Google, Yahoo! and Bing (Microsoft) travel industry bosses Nate Bucholz, Tracey Cheffey and Caroline Mastoras will answer questions on search engine marketing and how best to utilise the search engines.

World Travel Market Exhibition Director Simon Press said:  “The Technology and Online Travel region of World Travel Market is the fastest growing in the exhibition so its event programme has increased in 2010 to reflect this.

“The thought-provoking and practical Technology and Online Travel programme is a great service to our expanding exhibitor and visitor bases.”

ZURICH, NEW YORK, TOKYO: “EF Global Intern 2010″ winner Anna Bulycheva starts her truly global internship

Zurich, 26 July /PRNewswire/ — Anna Bulycheva from Russia, will start the first part of her international adventure this week in Zurich, Switzerland. Her EF internship will then take her across the globe to New York, USA followed by Tokyo, Japan.

Out of 17,000 contestants Anna managed to impress the jury of the “EF Global Intern 2010” contest with her resume and personal video. After much consideration she was selected as the individual who best encapsulates the ideals of today’s youth: open mindedness, curiosity about the world and an adventurous spirit.

Anna, who is a student of journalism in Russia, says in her video; “I want to learn something new every day, every minute”. Her positive attitude and ambition to develop into a global citizen will be an ideal stepping stone for Anna’s global internship in different marketing areas at EF Education First, of which she will be reporting via the EF Global Intern website at www.ef.com/globalintern.

When Anna learned that she had been selected as the winner, she was absolutely thrilled saying “My emotions are very hard to describe in words”. And as the winner of this year’s contest, she will become a member of the jury of the upcoming “EF Global Intern 2011” contest, which will start with local selections in 60 countries in October 2010.

As Anna states; “I like the feeling of being part of the world” and now thanks to EF she’s about to explore it.

IMEX pushes thought leadership by making latest show seminars and webcasts available online

For meetings industry professionals keen to extend their learning or who missed out on key seminars and workshops during this year’s IMEX, the show’s organisers have made 53 presentations available for free download on the IMEX website (www.imex-frankfurt.com/seminarpresentations10.html), including all the German language seminars, which were organised by IMEX founding partners, the German Convention Bureau (GCB).

For the first time a selection of six IMEX presentations were also recorded by webcast service company, Multiwebcasts. The company specialises in transforming regular webcasts into content-rich online educational activities. Available webcasts include: “A clear pond has no fish – Is transparency the enemy of profit” – by Roslyn McLeod, Managing Director, arinex pty ltd and  Philippe Fournier Vice President of  IAPCO and Managing Director of MCI, Paris; “The impact and implications of the Iceland volcano eruption”, by Martin Sirk CEO of ICCA; and “Emerging Destinations – How to establish and build a CVB.”  This DMAI presentation was extremely popular and attracted a standing room only audience of over 100 people during the show.

A Women’s Forum session entitled “Develop your personal branding” and presented by Mary Power, Executive Director of the Human Resource Certification Institute is also available as a webcast. In addition, Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future Research, can be seen presenting the first phase findings of groundbreaking new research study, Convention 2020 – The Future of Meetings, Venues and Destinations.  For those interested in extending their cross cultural education, a presentation by Michael Gates, Managing Director of Richard Lewis Communications, IMEX’s Cross Cultural Partner, can also be viewed as a webcast – “Getting competitive advantage from culture in the meetings market”.

Each of the webcasts is quick and simple to view and does not require any special technology other than Adobe Flash Player.

For the second year running IMEX hosted buyers and visitors could save any of the more than 200 seminars and exhbitor events into their online show diaries, enabling them to plan their time better and make the most of the show’s extensive educational programme. All IMEX education sessions are provided free of charge and with no need to book.

Drop-in 30 minute ‘Power’ sessions on the IMEX Corporate Responsibility Centre also proved a major success at this year’s show. Managed by the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC), the Centre aims to give both exhibitors and visitors the chance to increase their awareness and knowledge of environmental and social responsibility.

Speaking about a growing demand for green meetings information and education, Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group said, “Although IMEX has been promoting environmental education and awareness through a number of initiatives, such as our Green Awards, for several years; this year there was an increased desire to both find out more and actually do more in terms of green meetings and specific environmental targets. Our Power sessions were the perfect solution – half-hour bites of information from experts who understand how daunting it can be to even make a start in this area.”

A total of 10 CSR Power Session presentations are available for download or reference on the IMEX website.

As a result of its own environmental and waste reduction objectives, IMEX 2010 reduced waste output by 30 tonnes compared to 2009. Paper waste was reduced by 8 tonnes and cardboard waste by 7.5 tonnes. Both measures were helped by the new IMEX Green Ribbon Scheme which incentivised exhibitors to minimise paper usage during the show as well as encouraging them to ship unused print materials back home afterwards.

JOIN MPI IN VANCOUVER!

With the excitement of Vancouver hosting Meeting Professionals International’s World Education Congress (MPI WEC) July 24 – 27, 2010 everyone is getting in on the action!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHyAnVxHs4A

Held this year in the Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building, MPI WEC is the largest annual gathering of meeting and event professionals that offers attendees extensive learning opportunities to build their professional skills and enhance their career within the industry. With an expected attendance of more than 3,500 meeting professionals – over 40 percent of which are projected to be meeting planners – WEC is an extraordinary opportunity to tap into the energy of the meeting and event industry’s fast-paced decision-makers.

Learn more about how you can join in on the excitement by visiting MPI’s website at www.mpiweb.org/Events/WEC2010/SaveTheDate.aspx.

ESNEP Registration Now Open

Porto, Portugal for ESNEP 2010!

A charity fundraising Fashion Show at Alpine College dazzles the crowd!

Tuesday 19 January 2010—On Saturday 16 January, students enrolled on the Events & Conventions Management course at Alpine College demonstrated their management, leadership and transferable skills by organising an outstanding charity fundraising Fashion Show at Alpine’s campus in Glyfada. Led by a student enrolled on the Master’s programme in International Hospitality & Tourism Leadership, the event demonstrated true leadership and commitment to excellence, coupled with a community spirit, as the proceeds of the evening were given to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a non-profit organisation that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

Fitur 2010 will be the location for an International Seminar which will debate the UNWTO’s Roadmap for Recovery

Following last year’s successful Seminar on responding to the new challenges in the global economy, on 21 January 2010, the UNWTO Affiliate Members Secretariat will bring together a diverse representation of the global tourism sector to examine and debate solutions for two of the principal recommendations in the Roadmap for Recovery.

UK’S LEADING PROVIDER OF EDUCATIONAL LANGUAGE & ACTIVITY PRODUCTS COME TO SPAIN

Education Travel Group, the UK’s leading provider of educational language and activity products come to Spain where the portfolio of Kingswood Educational Activity Centres, Camp Beaumont Summer Camps, Grosvenor Hall and UK Connection will be presented. Education Travel Group will be exhibiting with Visit Britain at Fitur between January 20th to 24th 2010 in Madrid.

Meeting Planner: As one of the 50 best careers of 2010, this should have strong growth over the next decade

By U.S. News Staff

Minube organises a “Travellers Meetup” at Fitur 2010, 23 January, travel social network is holding a Meetup at the trade fair

The MINUBE travellers’ social network will be hosting a “Meetup” at FITUR on 23 January for lovers of travelling. Between 12.00 and 14.00 hours, in hall 10 of the Feria de Madrid, travellers will have the opportunity to Exchange experiences with other lovers of travel. There will also be a talk in which travellers can hear the different impressions and opinions of other travellers: from the more adventurous; followers of solidarity tourism or backpackers, to lovers of gastronomical or cultural routes. Furthermore, participants will be encouraged to enter a contest to win 10 enological trips in Castile-La Mancha, the region sponsoring the event. Visitors will be treated to a glass of Manchego wine and a typical regional tapa at the end of the meeting.

MINUBE experts will also be offering the public personalised advice before entering the trade fair, between 23 and 24 January. Two information points will be located at the North and South entrances of IFEMA for visitors to freely consult which FITUR destinations, or type of travel products they are seeking and once the relevant stands have been located, visitors can plan the most appropriate route of the trade fair and optimise their time spent there.