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IAEE MENA Forum Brings Industry Professionals Together In UAE

The International Association of Exhibitions and Events® (IAEE) announces it will hold the IAEE MENA Forum on 13-16 March 2022 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The IAEE MENA Forum will offer exhibition and event professionals education sessions including women ' s leadership and young professional programming, and Arabic Certified in Exhibition Management® (CEM) Learning Program classes. The forum will feature two days of networking via diverse activities and workshops highlighting important industry topics. Industry professionals will explore the latest trends in exhibitions and events through education sessions focusing on leadership, strategy, design, marketing, management and technology. “This is an important region for the industry and we look forward to hosting the IAEE MENA Forum next year, which will bring buyers and sellers together for a very meaningful event, ” noted IAEE MENA Chapter Chairperson Bilal Al-Barmawi, CEM, CEO and Managing Director of 1st Arabia.

ICC Wales Hosts Largest Exhibition To Date

The International Convention Centre Wales (ICC Wales) has hosted its largest exhibition to date, as part of the UK' s ISBA 2021 Annual Conference (Independent Schools ’ Bursars Association). The ISBA Annual Conference took place 23-24 November and brought over 1,000 attendees to the convention centre, with more than 170 exhibition stands and 400 delegates. ISBA’ s services are designed to assist school finance managers in the successful administrative, financial and operational management of their schools. The association ' s annual conference and exhibition aims to provide them with an opportunity meet suppliers and service providers, as well as share ideas and attend thought leadership sessions. David Woodgate, chief executive, Independent Schools’ Bursars Association, said: “As a new venue, ICC Wales has clearly been very well planned in terms of the flow of the rooms.

AmEx Global Business Travel To Go Public Via $5.3 bln Apollo SPAC Deal

American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) is to merge with a blank-check firm backed by Apollo Global Management Inc (APO.N) to go public in a deal valued at around $5.3 billion. The merger with Apollo Strategic Growth Capital (APSG.N) will deliver gross proceeds of up to $1.2 billion, including a $335 million private investment in public equity, or PIPE. Investors in the PIPE included investment manager Ares Management Corp, travel technology company Sabre Corp (SABR.O) and Zoom Video Communications Inc (ZM.O). The deal comes at a time when business travel is recovering from a pandemicinduced slump, in a boost for companies like AmEx GBT that help plan corporate trips. AmEx GBT has over the past year strengthened its business by acquiring several companies, including Ovation Travel Group, Expedia Group’s corporate travel arm Egencia and 30SecondsToFly, a travel tech startup that uses artificial intelligence.

75 Top Destinations In India To Be Developed On International Standards

Union Minister of Tourism, Culture and Development of North Eastern Region of India, G. Kishan Reddy has stated that the major portion of the Ministry ’ s expenditure goes into the development of quality infrastructure relating to tourism at various tourist destinations and circuits spread around the States/UTs. He also mentioned that to commemorate 75 years of India ’ s Independence, top 75 destinations in the country are to be developed on international standards. “All departments have given their comments on the same. The work will begin in full swing to develop the 75 destinations on international standards, once the Cabinet approves it” . Reddy insisted that getting completely vaccinated with two doses of vaccines is very crucial for the steady growth of tourism sector. “Those who are getting vaccination should get completely vaccinated with two doses of Covid19 vaccine. This will help to revive the tourism sector at a much greater speed. States/UTs are requested to ensure maximum Vaccination of beneficiaries in cities as well as villages,” he stated. The Minister assured that there will not be any issue in vaccination as the Centre is well prepared to supply adequate vaccines to the State Governments as per their requirements. The Minister stated that the Central Government is working together with the State Governments to ensure implementation of COVID-19 protocols.