News
GLOBAL SNAPSHOT
AUSTRALASIA
Acting GM appointed to fill the gap in Geelong The Victorian Convention and Event Trust( VCET) has appointed Paul Kanaan as acting general manager, Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre. The appointment follows the departure of Rick Aylett, who left the organisation on 16 October to take on the role of CEO at Melbourne Royal. His departure came just three months after the convention centre officially opened, although he had been with the $ 450m venue project since 2022. Kanaan was previously head of food and beverage at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
AMERICAS
Geo-political instability is disrupting destination planning, say 60 % of incentives profs
The Incentive Research Foundation and the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence’ s 2026 Incentive Travel Index indicates 60 % of respondents believe geo-political instability is disrupting the destinations they use. While average spend per person is up by almost 8 %, year-on-year, 62 % forecast their incentive travel activity for 2027 will be similar to 2026, while a quarter predict an increase. Securing airlift and airline capacity has become a more prominent near-term challenge, cited by 40 % of US buyers compared with 12 % in last year’ s Index.
AUSTRALASIA
Wellington wins Indigenous Wellbeing Conference for 2027 Wellington, New Zealand, will host the Indigenous Wellbeing Conference( IWC) in October 2027. It is expected to attract 400 delegates from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands to Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre and will be organised by the Australian & New Zealand Mental Health Association. The bid was supported by Business Events Wellington and Tourism New Zealand Business Events. BE Wellington manager Loryn Blaikie said support included integration with local associations and academia as well as showcasing opportunities for cultural immersion.
EUROPE
Curious Orange launches new live experiential agency Dublin-based independent marketing and creative agency Curious Orange has launched Curious Orange Live, a new experiential agency led in EMEA by Kieran Traynor as managing director. The agency says it has already secured work with Google, YouTube and Discord. Curious Orange Live aims to help brands use live to communicate, build relationships and connect experiences into clients’ wider marketing activity. Traynor brings 18 years’ experience across production and agency work, including two years in-house at Google on B2B product marketing events across EMEA.
6 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 145