Event Industry Latest News - June, 2024
Let's wrap up the latest developments in the event industry that happened this month. Get your cup of coffee or team and start reading!
Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) has acquired InfraFM Expo, a trade show focused on facility, property, and workplace management, held in S?o Paulo, Brazil. The event serves a market with over 200,000 condominiums and aims to integrate diverse services for business and shopping centres. IEG CEO Corrado Peraboni highlights the entry into Brazil's €70 billion market, with global projections of €2 trillion by 2025. Graziano Messana, IEG's managing director in Brazil, notes significant growth in their events, including a 50% increase for MundoGeo. IEG, which started in Brazil in 2022, also organizes other major trade shows, and reported €212.4 million in revenues for 2023, a 32% increase from the previous year.
More than 130 business events industry leaders from 25 states gathered on Capitol Hill for the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance’s (ECA) annual Legislative Action Day. This year’s event, the largest ever, focused on attracting and training the next generation workforce and reducing visa wait times for international exhibitors and attendees. ECA’s Co-President Marsha Flanagan emphasized the broad bipartisan support for these policy priorities, which aim to drive economic growth and support job creation. ECA encourages continued advocacy throughout the year to address these critical issues. ECA Vice President Tommy Goodwin highlighted the importance of a unified industry voice in shaping future policies.
The Events Industry Council (EIC) announced that Convening Leaders 2024 (CL24), organized by EIC member PCMA, has achieved Silver Level Certification to EIC’s Sustainable Event Standards. These standards guide event planners and suppliers in producing sustainable events. PCMA President and CEO Sherrif Karamat emphasized the importance of sustainability and using EIC’s framework to drive sustainable practices. EIC President Amy Calvert praised PCMA’s dedication, noting that achieving this certification sets a benchmark for the industry. Honeycomb Strategies helped implement sustainable management programs, and the Alliance for Audited Media verified PCMA’s compliance through rigorous independent certification.
Cvent announced its acquisition of Reposite, an AI-powered vendor and supplier-sourcing marketplace, marking its third acquisition since going private under Blackstone’s ownership in March 2023. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Cvent CEO Reggie Aggarwal stated that Reposite complements Cvent's hotel and venue sourcing platform, adding over 35,000 vendor offerings to its database. Reposite's technology will enhance Cvent’s Vendor Marketplace, particularly with its AI-powered quote-matching solution, which simplifies vendor sourcing. Reposite, founded in 2020, shifted its focus to supplier management and discovery in 2022, and recently promoted its AI capabilities and educational partnerships.
Caesars’ inaugural Global Wellness Summit highlighted the rising importance of wellness in the U.S., now a $480 billion market. Eighty-two percent of U.S. consumers prioritize wellness, which Caesars integrated into its events through a thoughtfully designed wellness menu. The summit featured wellness-focused activities and sessions, such as aura readings, yoga, and mindfulness talks by experts, aiming to enhance attendees' physical and mental health. Despite challenges like extreme heat during outdoor excursions, Caesars demonstrated thorough preparation and adaptability. The success of the summit illustrates the potential for Las Vegas to attract wellness-focused events, as exemplified by Chartis' positive experience incorporating wellness activities into their program.
The German Convention Bureau (GCB) promotes Germany as a premier destination for business events, supported by a robust infrastructure and growing market. In 2023, Germany hosted 2.15 million events with 310.8 million attendees, and projections for 2024 indicate further growth. Germany offers 7,635 venues, including 3,373 conference hotels.
Visit Atlantic City has launched the Meaningful Meetings 2.0 mission to promote sustainable and inclusive events, encouraging planners to "leave your mark, but not your footprint." The initiative includes an educational series that provides event professionals with practical tips on leveraging local resources and partnerships to achieve ESG goals. This effort emphasizes community engagement, highlighting local nonprofits and businesses contributing to sustainability. The program targets small groups of planners in key East Coast markets, focusing on building long-term relationships and integrating sustainability into the event planning process. Atlantic City is also partnering with PCMA to offer online content on sustainability, reinforcing its commitment to greener and more inclusive meetings.
Apple introduced its new AI system, Apple Intelligence, at the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference. This system integrates Siri for a more personalized user experience, simplifying tasks like tracking flights or prioritizing emails based on relevance. Event marketers anticipate challenges as the system prioritizes content, prompting strategies to optimize visibility. According to Nick Borelli, this innovation will benefit event organizers with assistant-like research tools and enhanced event ticket designs. Apple Watch updates include AI-powered speech recognition and live event updates, enhancing attendee experiences. The new OS also improves writing tools and message prioritization, emphasizing efficiency and personalization in everyday tasks.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) hosted its HPE Discover 2024 conference at The Venetian Convention and Expo Center in Las Vegas, highlighting the Sphere venue. CEO Antonio Neri delivered a keynote emphasizing the venue's grand scale and innovative capabilities. The event showcased features like a 17,600-seat capacity, private event spaces, and advanced technologies including a humanoid robot and holographic installations. Sphere, costing $2.3 billion to build, boasts the world’s largest spherical structure with a high-resolution LED display. Chandra Allison, newly appointed EVP at Sphere, aims to position the venue as a disruptor in corporate events alongside its entertainment and sports functions.
The Conference Board's new report on Europe's largest employers reveals that the EU's Pay Transparency Directive is prompting businesses to adopt unified global pay policies, with 55% of senior HR executives either implementing or planning such approaches. However, the survey also underscores a significant challenge in the Directive's implementation, as 41% of surveyed companies, employing approximately three million people globally, have yet to initiate preparations. Effective from June 2026, the Directive mandates companies with over 100 EU employees to disclose pay information and address gender pay gaps above five percent annually, posing concerns among employers about impacts on costs, competitiveness, and managerial flexibility in rewarding top performers.
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