Meeting Media Group

Technology has enabled us to achieve remarkable things, to work and learn remotely, which was essential during the pandemic. It has also made communication more efficient, instantly connecting us with people across the globe. As our regular Mark Levin tells us: “leaders in the association management understand the enormous potential of AI to improve our members' experiences. However, it will take some time to analyse its long-term effects on our organisations.” AI-generated content can be a fantastic game-changer, but there are significant downsides. As you can read in our conversation with the MCI Canada director, Juliano Lissoni, MSc these applications and digital facilitators are already altering human intellectual structures in their interaction with the environment. AI can simplify your life, automate tedious tasks, and help you quickly generate ideas, but it cannot replace human insight, creativity, and emotional intelligence. “One of the (improving) areas definitely involves the attendees’ experience at events. I feel that mass personalisation is where we shall see the most significant impact,” predicts Veemal Gungadin, CEO of the event tech agency, Gevme. In this November's HQ #117, we try to offer an overview of this phenomenon and a future direction for this rapidly evolving cloud world with its inherent complexities and compromises. We caught up with Göteborg & Co to highlight their new digital visitor guide and the need for hybrid solutions; stopped by South Korea with the Korea Tourism Organization to see how this nation is facilitating innovation in the local events landscape; invite you to tap into market trends from our technology partners, Cvent and ExpoPlatform; also, find out a wealth of information from our association partners, AIPC, Kenes Group and the World PCO Alliance, on data management for #associations, medical education through AI simulation courses and the relevance of hybrid formats. https://lnkd.in/dSWx2vkd #Technology #ArtificialIntelligence #HybridWorld #Associations #EventProfs #Conferences #Conventions #PCOs #DMOs #ConevntionBureaux #meetingsandevents #businessevents

#Maribor achieved a title that transformed its urban landscape and functional infrastructure: the European Capital of Culture. This, together with the 1st European Culinary Destination in 2023, has awakened visitors and delegates to this Slovenian city and its hidden potential as a premier meetings and event destination. Read our HQ report with Maribor Tourist Board https://lnkd.in/dvWW9erT

Located in the province of Ontario, #Ottawa is Canada’s most educated city and a centre for knowledge-based industries, with over 1,900 companies employing more than 75,000 people. The advantages of hosting large conferences and business events here are, therefore, numerous, converging specialisation and centrality. HQ Magazine Manager, Manuel A. Fernandes, was at the beautiful Gleneagles Hotel and Resort in Scotland last Summer, to speak with Lesley Pincombe (Mackay) from Ottawa Tourism. https://lnkd.in/dM3csxbA

GUARANT International is the leading provider of congress and conference services in Central Europe, offering quality services to international organisations. The company organises 50 to 80 events annually and is a member of the Bratislava Tourist Board, Slovak Convention Bureau, IAPCO, ICCA, and ESAE. Bratislava is a fast-developing destination with good transport accessibility, talent pools, modern R&D and industry. We asked Mr Peter Petrovic, Executive Director of GUARANT, how this ties in with impacts and legacies for associations and the destination itself. https://lnkd.in/dZTgTSQN

"Sustainability is not really an ‘issue’ anymore. It has moved past the issue stage and into the consciousness of virtually every company, organisation, association, and government in the world. The next step is to make it a true priority of all these entities, and associations need to be taking the lead in this arena." We recap this article by Mark Levin at the close of the year. https://lnkd.in/dp9tnirr

#Sustainability continues to invite scepticism and struggle for some associations, and these organisations are asking themselves several questions, namely: What will the future of sustainability look like, and what is required to implement it? André Vietor, Nancy Tan, CMP, Ksenija Polla, CMP, CICE and Noel Mitchell of the World PCO Alliance were asked to tackle the complexities implicit in sustainability, and they share their experiences in this article. https://lnkd.in/dTdHAcpw

#Dubai is set to host the XIX World Congress of Neurosurgery in 2025, bringing one of the most prestigious congresses in the medical field to the Middle East for the first time. https://lnkd.in/dZ2DD656

At every meeting, lessons are learnt and new ideas are born that influence the very direction of a destination. #Gothenburg has a sector-based approach to its business, and has developed it by using meetings and events as test beds with on-demand solutions such as its new digital visitor guide. We spoke to these local experts from Göteborg & Co about this recipe and the preparation of a plan to build a modern, impactful destination. https://lnkd.in/dZZJW8xz

A few weeks ago, Business Riga and Latvian Tourism Development Agency invited us on an exclusive guided tour of its vast events infrastructure full of refurbished venues, new restaurants and refined hotels between #Riga and the seaside resort town of #Jurmala. At the last farewell lunch, our magazine manager sat down with AIGARS SMILTANS for a constructive back-and-forth about the city's current state and ambitions. https://lnkd.in/dbQphbwH

Ōtautahi Christchurch is set to host the next Professional Conference Organisers Association conference in December 2025. ChristchurchNZ, Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre and Christchurch Airport collaborated on the bid to bring the prestigious event to #Christchurch. https://lnkd.in/dgUT-3qQ