ICCA Rankings
Vienna and USA top ICCA City and Country Rankings respectively
OLD FAVOURITES IN POLE POSITIONS AS ICCA RANKINGS RETURN FOLLOWING TWO-YEAR GAP .
F ollowing a two-year gap , the International Congress and Convention Association ( ICCA ) has resumed publishing its rankings of congress destinations and Vienna is topping the list for the latest year under review – 2022 .
ICCA said that at the end of 2022 , it had made the proactive decision to revert to normal rankings again based on the observation that approximately 85 % of all meetings were held in-person , while also recognising that certain countries and territories were still working within the confines of Covid-19 restrictions .
ICCA ’ s research team identified over 10,500 meetings of which some 9,000 meetings were held in-person . The new report focuses primarily on actual meetings ( in-person and hybrid ) as this is the main driver of our industry when it comes to knowledge sharing , human interaction and economic impact . However , as ICCA recognises the destinations ’ achievement of winning the bid in the first place , the total number of planned meetings is available in ICCA Business Analytics – the new and more definitive name for the Data Comparison Tool ( DTC ). This allows members the option of creating alternative rankings based on their requirements .
ICCA CEO , Senthil Gopinath says : “ The ICCA Country – and City – Rankings always generate huge industry interest . It ’ s heartening to see the drive towards in-person meetings is once more very strong and we predict this trend will grow throughout the coming year .”
With 162 congresses , Vienna was No . 1 in the City Rankings , with Lisbon holding 144 qualifying in-person meetings and Paris 134 . Barcelona ( 133 ), Prague ( 129 ) and Madrid ( 128 ) followed in fourth to sixth places respectively .
In terms of cities on the move , Glasgow and Edinburgh are ones to watch , at 27th and 30th places respectively and ahead of cities including Washington DC , Tokyo , Geneva , Dubai and Sydney . Commenting on the results , Rory Archibald , associations and sectors , VisitScotland Business Events , said : “ We are delighted to see Glasgow and Edinburgh appearing so high in the ICCA City Rankings . The report shows that our reputation for pioneering industries , world-leading innovation and cutting-edge research continue to attract large conventions and congresses from across the globe .”
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