Daily News & Opinion

Shannon Thwaites, Manager – Global Business Events at Destination Gold Coast (pictured right) has been awarded the prestigious AACB Staff Scholarship for 2018/19. The Scholarship was announced at the AACB Annual Conference AIME Gala Dinner held at Spirt House Restaurant and Cooking School on the Sunshine Coast. The AACB Staff Scholarship is designed to offer bureau staff an opportunity to demonstrate their professional commitment to the business events industry by delivering a project which highlights innovation and excellence.    

One of the hottest destinations for associations in the world, Atout France is pushing more about the destination than its capital with the launch of a new website – https://au.france.fr/en. Apparently 90 per cent Aussies are planning to visit France within the next two years.    

Global luxury travel network Virtuoso® revealed the winners of the widely coveted 2018 Best of the Best awards at last night’s 30th annual Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas, with Adare Manor in Limerick being named the winner. Virtuoso’s voting public included its 1000-plus travel agency members and its 17,500 professional travel advisors from 50 countries.    

Over Tuesday and Wednesday next week, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau will be hosting the Travel Industry Exhibition, an event aimed at showcasing the country’s appeal as a tourism and MICE destination. The event will kick off with a celebration of dance, music and authentic Sri Lankan food at Gold Room, Dockside Darling Harbour, and progress to showcase 14 of the country’s best tour operators in line with its leading luxury hotels and resorts. To attend, email jessica@bastioneffect.com by today.

Dex Torricke-Barton, the former head of communications at SpaceX, executive communications manager at Facebook and executive at Google has been announced as the second keynote speaker for IBTM World 2018. The event, which will take place in Barcelona between November 27 and 29, will focus on innovation, technology and creativity, with Dex’s experience perfectly complementing the theme. Some of the topics he will cover include the emergence of macro societal trends, including the rise of globalisation, and the development of virtual reality.

A significant change will take place at this year’s Australian Event Symposium, with the program featuring a full day of collaborative workshops and Masterclasses led by ground-breakers from beyond the events industry. The Event Awards managing director Ian Steigrad said this year’s instalment will allow event professionals to get their hands dirty and take away real skills. Peter FitzSimons has been announced as the first Masterclass presenter, with the ex-Wallaby and journo set to impart his creative process.

The Environmental Sustainability Working Group, a subset of the EEAA focused on reducing the environmental impact of the events sector, held its first meeting on August 7 to devise an industry-wide action plan. On the meeting, EEAA chief executive Joyce DiMascio said “While we all agree that many positive steps have been taken across the industry to reduce the environmental impact of events, it was time to step-up and collaborate industry-wide to do more.”

An agreement has been signed between IHG and real estate owner Precinct Properties to open InterContinental Auckland, a 244-room hotel set to open in 2022. The property, which will be located on Queen Street and offer waterfront views, will complete the $1 billion Commercial Bay mixed-use development, which will include retail facilities and a 39-level office tower. The hotel will offer a gym and meeting facilities, and will be located near the New Zealand International Convention Centre and SKYCITY Casino.