As live events gradually return, event planners are experimenting with new hybrid event format — bridging the gap between the online and offline worlds.

Tokyo’s ability to manage Covid-safe event protocols for next year’s Olympic Games safely was put the test this week, with gymnasts from four nations gathering in the Japanese capital for a friendly tournament over the weekend (8 November).

When cloud communications company, Twilio, was looking to plan its annual customer and developer conference, SIGNAL, its experience team was faced with the same question that event planners have asking themselves since March — how can we make the right pivot to virtual?

The 14th Hangzhou Cultural and Creative Industry Expo took place last week (29 October to 1 November) as a hybrid event, attracting more than 60,000 visitors.

As Western Australia prepares to ease interstate border restrictions, Business Events Perth has launched a new online tool to help event organisers plan meetings and incentive events along the west coast.

The 128th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) concluded its 10-day virtual affair last month, the Autumn edition of the world's largest trade show an inspiration for event planners keen to execute the physical-to-online pivot.

Coronavirus restrictions have seen Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) explore new ways to use its spaces, including the filming of a Hollywood blockbuster starring Liam Neeson, and the training of Victorian Guide Dogs.

The 59th International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Conference made history last week (1-3 November) as the association’s first-ever hybrid, multi-hub event.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the MICE industry to completely reinvent itself and look for new ways to reactivate business travel — particularly when it comes to incentive travel.

Banyan Tree Group has unveiled plans to roll out five new hotels in Indonesia as part of its regional expansion strategy, singling out the country's Indonesia’s long-term potential in attracting both overseas and domestic markets.

The Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS) has called upon the Malaysian Government to relax restrictions imposed on business events due to the ongoing Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO).

With little prospect of international travel resuming before the end of the year, the challenge for the MICE sector is to promote itself to the domestic market. Launched ten years ago after political demonstrations closed Bangkok and even the airport for weeks on end, the “MICE City” label was designed to improve the attractiveness of MICE services and infrastructure in other regional hubs. “We couldn't just rely on Bangkok,” said Pattanachai Singhavara, Director of TCEB's Southern Region Office.

Two of Australia's cities have reason to celebrate, following the return of exhibitions at the International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney), and thousands of delegates attending events at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC) in October.

Covid-19 has caused a dramatic upset to the world's most powerful passports — and business travel freedom — as border lockdowns continue to shake the global mobility hierarchy.