Welcome to our weekly wrap-up of MICE News, which covers meetings, incentives, conferences, and events across Australia and around the world. If you are in the MICE industry, this is what you need to know as our writers stay on top of the latest developments.
If you have any MICE news, please send it to editor@travelmonitor.com.au
FCM Meetings & Events targets global expansion
FCM Meetings & Events, in line with its global relaunch targeting worldwide growth, can today reveal that more than a quarter of customers allocate half their travel budgets to the MICE sector, according to its landmark global State of the Market* survey. The inaugural survey, undertaken by Flight Centre Corporate, shows a healthy portion of customers allocate more than half of their travel budget to the MICE sector.
Surveying Flight Centre Corporate customers, overall, 28 per cent of businesses said more than 50 per cent of their budget goes towards travelling for MICE, with 11 per cent revealing an allocation of between 25-50 per cent, and 10 per cent stating that 15-25 per cent of their travel spend goes towards the MICE sector.
FCM Meetings & Events Global General Manager, Simone Seiler, said the findings came at a time when the business was repositioning worldwide to deliver a unified offering, leveraging itself as a subsidiary of FCM Travel, and harnessing its global scale, but with regional customisation.
“Globalising the FCM M&E business will allow us to add consistency and scale for customers looking for a global meetings and events provider, with hub offices in all four regions, global consistency but with local nuance to understand specific client needs,” Ms Seiler said.
“We now operate in more than a dozen countries globally, with future expansion plans in the works. Australia, India, and Mexico are currently thriving for us, and we really see North America, Asia, and Europe as key regions with the largest opportunities for growth.
“FCM M&E is targeting exponential growth and we’re already expanding into the likes of United Arab Emirates and South Africa – which will allow us in future to expand our workforce to the more than 365 that we already have servicing our valued customers.
“Our global vision for the future of meetings and travel management is centred around innovation, sustainability, accessibility and seamless integration of technology like our new FCM Venue Finder platform to enhance the overall experience for our clients.
“By combining our expertise in event management with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainability, we aim to lead the industry in creating future-proof, impactful, and responsible meetings and events.”
As part of the global relaunch, FCM Meetings & Events has now welcomed a new Global Director of Enterprise Sales into its London office, Joanne Shaw. Ms Seiler said Ms Shaw enjoyed extensive experience in both sales and account management.
Wellington wins bid to host international urban health conference in 2025
Wellington is set to host the 21st edition of the International Conference on Urban Health (ICUH) in 2025, the first time the event has been in Oceania in its 21-year history. The International Society for Urban Health’s (ISUH) flagship conference has the goal of transforming urban environments to improve health, equity, and environmental sustainability in cities worldwide. It will take place at Tākina Wellington Convention & Exhibition Centre in November 2025.
The bid for the event was led by award-winning research centre the New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities, based on the University of Otago’s Wellington campus. It was supported by Business Events Wellington and Tourism New Zealand Business Events. The conference will bring together researchers, academics, policy makers, philanthropists and the nonprofit sector to further health and wellbeing research and policy.
Distinguished Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman, Director New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities, Department of Public Health, University of Otago | Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka says: “We are delighted to announce that the 2025 International Society of Urban Health Conference will be held at Tākina, our new state of the art, 5-star Green Star conference centre on the harbour in Pōneke, Wellington, the capital city of Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Australia’s most in-demand corporate acts
A new visualizer clip featuring Australian World Music Star Mitch Tambo at AIME 2024 in Melbourne has been lauded for its futuristic innovation. The clip was released this week for the Australian performer’s new single “The Best” – a reimagined version of the of the Tina Turner classic – sung in Tambo’s traditional Gamilaraay language.
It features Tambo performing the song at the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event earlier this year surrounded by dancers and circus performers in hyper colourful outfits lit up in lights. The costumes, which took months to create, were embedded with up to 10,000 individual pixel lights as well as LED lights. The dazzling performance was conceptualised by top creative entertainment company, Circus Bizurkus, who proudly proclaim they are “Australia’s loudest entertainment curators”.
“We’ve had people say they were astounded by the costumes and show, and had never seen anything like it in the events space before,” says Circus Bizurkus founder Fernando Barraza. “We programmed the costumes, powered by rechargeable batteries, to flash their lights in time to music. It’s an exciting concept as you can also create incredible shapes, logos and patterns with the lights as well.”
