December's top 5

Don’t have time to keep up with what’s happening in the MICE world? Don’t fear, The Meetings Show has you covered. Here’s everything you need to know this month…

 

1) Vote for the best event industry providers

Voting is now open for the M&IT Awards 2023. There are a total of 21 categories to vote in at the awards, taking place at Evolution London on Friday 15 September 2023.

New categories for 2023 include the Best UK Representation Company, voted for by you, the M&IT audience, and the Positive Impact/Event Legacy and Rising Star categories, judged by an expert panel of event professionals. 

Cast your votes here. Voting closes on 28 April 2023.

M&IT AWARDS 2022 from Northstar Meetings Group UK on Vimeo.

 

2) The world’s top 10 most sustainable destinations

The Nordics continue to lead the way on sustainability, taking seven of the top 10 spots including the first four, in the recently published Global Destination Sustainability (GDS) Index. The GDS-Index is a performance improvement programme to make the tourism and events industry more sustainable.

The top 10 cities on the GDS Index are:

1. Gothenburg, Sweden

2. Bergen, Norway

3. Copenhagen, Denmark

4. Aalborg, Denmark

5. Bordeaux, France

6. Glasgow, UK

7. Stockholm, Sweden

8. Belfast, UK

9. Aarhus, Denmark

10. Oslo, Norway

 

3) ExCeL celebrates first phase of expansion

ExCeL London, host venue for The Meetings Show, has completed the first phase of its expansion project which is set to increase conference and exhibition facilities by 25 per cent.

Within the 25,000sqm of extra event space, 12,000sqm will be dedicated to exhibition space. In line with ExCeL’s current environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy, it is targeting a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) rating of ‘Excellent’. 

As part of the expansion project, an investment will also be made in the public realm including new greenery along the dock edge, improved landscaping for pedestrians and cyclists, and a new pocket park. 

 

4) Isla partners with VisitBritain to launch venue sustainability guide

Events industry sustainability body isla has launched an action-focused guide to support meeting and event venues in the transition to Net Zero.

The guide encourages venues to review their sustainability progress, develop short to mid-term sustainability goals and set a realistic but ambitious target to reach Net Zero by 2050 at the latest.

Sustainability in Practice: A Pathway for Venues was created in partnership with VisitBritain Business Events and supported by three leading industry associations: the Association of Event Venues (AEV), the Meetings Industry Association (mia) and beam.

Find out more and download the guide here.

 

5) Agiito pilots live availability venue find solution

Agiito has launched a new live availability solution that enables meeting bookers to view rates and venue availability in real-time, before submitting their enquiry through its Meetingspro platform.

Agiito is piloting the new functionality with Royal Mail Group, with other customers also set to pilot the technology.

Caroline Medcalf, director of venue find and events at Agiito, said: “We are very excited to see our technology evolving and it’s great to have Royal Mail Group on board. We have much more in the pipeline to release over the coming months, and we are working with suppliers and industry bodies to align the process as we move into this new era of venue find booking.”