03/2013

On the eve of its show opening, Natural Products Expo West signed a new four-year commitment to remain at the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center through 2017.

Did you catch any of the Launch Festival? If not, there’s a lot of video from the event that’s worth checking out. It’s one of a handful of important incubating events where young tech startups go to get in front of investors, partners and media. One real standout video with direct relevance to marketers is […]

The Meetings Show UK will work with SPECTRA and Capita Travel and Events to deliver its hosted buyer programme when the inaugural show takes place at Olympia in July.

EUROPE – Ipex owner Informa is set to issue its plans for the future of the event after Canon joined the likes of HP, Kodak and Xerox in withdrawing from the show.

EUROPE – The venue and organiser of the Swedish International Travel and Tourism Trade Fair (TUR), the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre, says it has sold out of exhibitor space at the 2013 edition of the show.

AUSTRALASIA – Australian Business Events Expo and co-located Sydney’s Event Showcase is to run a revamped VIP Buyer Programme providing exhibitors access to one-on-one meetings with buyers.

CloserStill’s annual Dentistry Show saw unique visitor numbers rise 19 per cent and a total attendance of almost 8,500 for its recent show at The NEC.

03/2013

A guest blog this week by Super Pet Expo producer Eric Udler starts out with the line, “Let me set the stage…”

ABPCO (The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers) will host a panel debate on March 20^th at the forthcoming International Confex looking at the future of wi-fi for conferences.  The debate, entitled ‘The Future of Quality Wi-Fi at events – utility or luxury, free or fee?’ will bring together venues, conference organisers and third-party technology suppliers to consider the future of wi-fi and its impact on the meetings industry from practical, commercial and technological perspectives.

Speakers include Justin Hollins of wi-fi solutions provider iBAHN, William Jones of event communications specialists Max Wi-Fi and Mike Clanton of My Meeting Professional.  William Jones will be looking at the true costs of quality wi-fi, while Justin Hollins will look at new, creative financial models to cover these costs. Mike Clanton will then present on the end user experience, looking at wi-fi from both organiser and delegate perspectives.

The session will conclude with a panel discussion with questions from the floor.  ABPCO Head of External Relations Michael Foreman, who will chair the event, commented: “ABPCO’s Conference Cloud Campaign calling for free wi-fi for conference delegates has instigated some major changes in terms of encouraging venues to offer wi-fi free of charge.  There is still work to be done in improving mutual understanding of the issues involved in offering quality wi-fi free of charge to delegates and we want to take things a step further with this debate.  This Confex session will continue the conversation and open up discussions on exactly what it means to offer free wi-fi and what strategies can be implemented to fund this. I look forward to hearing from those attending Confex and some lively discussion.”

James Samuel, Event Director of International Confex and Live Experience said: “As technological advancements continue to enhance events and conferences, the issue of wi-fi availability is increasingly pertinent. We’re therefore delighted to be hosting a debate which aims to clarify some of the issues surrounding something the majority of our visitors deal with on a daily basis. It’s important that as a community we understand the costs and technical challenges faced by venues in implementing wi-fi which is free to conference delegates.”

The session will take place at 2pm in the Keynote & Agency Theatre. Attendance for the event will be on a first-come, first-served basis on the day.

The post ABPCO to host ‘Free or Fee?’ wi-fi debate at Confex appeared first on Exhibition Industry News.

WORLD – Tarsus will focus on carefully targeted acquisitions in China, Southeast Asia, Turkey and the United States, as the firm looks for 10 per cent annual growth.