ICCA has released its annual ranking on top countries and top cities for international association meetings, with little change in the line-up for top 10 countries but some movement among the most popular cities.
The US, Germany and Spain continue to lead in terms of the number of meetings held in their respective countries each year. The US hosted 829 meetings, Germany welcomed 722 and Spain saw 562.
Meanwhile, Japan and China have made progress by advancing one and two ranks to take seventh and eighth spot respectively. Japan witnessed 342 meetings while China was a hair’s breadth away with 340.
Paris has dislodged Vienna from the number one spot, which that latter has held since 2005 to claim the title as the city with the most meetings. Paris (204 meetings) was number two in 2012.
With 186 meetings last year, Madrid has overtaken Vienna’s 182. Barcelona (179) takes fourth place, followed by Berlin (178) which fell from third to fifth place this year. Singapore holds strong from last year at sixth place with 175 international association meetings while London dropped to seventh (166). Istanbul rose to eighth, leaving top 10 newcomers Lisbon and Seoul to share ninth place.
ICCA’s CEO, Martin Sirk, said: “It shouldn’t be surprising that our 2013 figures have demonstrated the strength of the international association meetings sector, since the overall picture for our industry is significantly better than has been the case for quite some time. But it should be remembered that this is a sector that has shown significant growth in every single year since the financial crisis hit the world economy in 2008.
“The international association meetings sector is a solid, reliable performer, in good times and bad, and the longer term trends are the most critically important factors when preparing strategic plans and investment decisions. I am convinced that every serious meetings destination, internationally ambitious venue, and forward-thinking meetings management company should include international associations in their marketing and development strategies.”
For the full ranking, visit ICCA’s website.
