Beyond Asia: Prague, Czech Republic; St Petersburg, Russia; Miami, the US

TTGmice's weekly round-up of MICE developments outside of Asia-Pacific

Prague's Old Town Square
Prague’s Old Town Square

Prague hits record number of conferences in 2018
Prague hosted a record number of conferences and congresses in 2018. Last year, the city’s accommodation establishments welcomed more than 4,500 events, more than a third of all events held in the Czech Republic, and almost 540,000 delegates (up 1.4 per cent) from around the world. The number of delegates had remained around 540,000 since 2013, while the average number of participants per meeting had been on a decline. According to Prague Convention Bureau, this was due to a running trend of organisers preferring to hold more events for a smaller number of participants.

St Petersburg’s Expoforum launches global PCO service
Expoforum International is bringing its PCO services to international associations looking to host events in St Petersburg.

Already well known in domestic markets, with 55 years of event delivery, Expoforum International is now planning to make the most of worldwide connections fostered by the Expoforum venue. The news follows the recent announcement that Expoforum as a venue has become a preferred supplier to INCON, giving Expoforum access to its partner’s client base and opportunities. INCON partners organise more than 10,000 projects annually for three million delegates across 170 destinations.

In addition to logistical support, Expoforum International will specialise in the wider needs of associations. Services will include identification of local hosts and ambassadors, development of relationships with local industries and academics, assistance in the sourcing of government subvention and visa support. Ultimately, Expoforum International will be able to support bids from start to finish, ensuring that local ambassadors and organisers maximise everything the venue and city have to offer incoming events.

Miami Beach Convention Center gets greener
The Miami Beach Convention Center has just broken ground on a new 2.3ha park, which will be the product of a conversion of one of the facility’s surface parking lots. The new park, which is scheduled to be completed this October, will have 500 new trees, open lawn spaces, shady areas and public art pieces, as well as a public restroom facility, walkways and lighting.

The move is the latest part of the ongoing expansion and redesign of the Miami Beach Convention Center. Once finished, the revamped venue’s campus will have a total of 4.9ha of new green spaces. In all, the campus will be expanded by 245 per cent in size, allowing for better absorption of rainwater during storms.

The Miami Beach Convention Center had previously embarked on a US$620 million-dollar renovation and expansion project, which included a new 5,574m2 grand ballroom, 46,451m2 of exhibition space and 84 breakout rooms.

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