The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) has released its Country and City Rankings, and many members of BestCities Global Alliance are near the top of the list.
The annual report includes over 10,000 meetings that took place in the calendar year 2023.
Amid over 332 cities worldwide, Singapore ranked second on ICCA’s list, having hosted 152 meetings in 2023. Rankings for other BestCities partner destinations are: Madrid (#8) with 109 meetings; Dublin (#9) with 104 meetings; Berlin (#12) with 97 meetings; Tokyo (#13) with 91 meetings; Copenhagen (#17) with 87 meetings; Melbourne (#35) and Vancouver (#35), both with 50 meetings; Dubai (#38) with 49 meetings; Cape Town (#50) with 42 meetings; Washington (#84) with 27 meetings; Guadalajara (#212) with 10 meetings; and Houston (#70) with seven meetings.
Since association meetings are planned over the long term, preparations occur months and even years ahead of the actual event date. The meetings held in 2023 resulted from bidding processes that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re thrilled with the performance of BestCities’ partner destinations on ICCA’s Country and City Rankings, with three cities in the top 10,” said Loren Christie, Managing Director of BestCities Global Alliance.
Top 10 countries
1. USA 690 meetings
2. Italy 553
3. Spain 505
4. France 472
5. Germany 463
6. UK 425
7. Japan 363
8. Netherlands 304
9. Portugal 303
10. Canada 259
Top 10 Cities
1. Paris 156 meetings
2. Singapore 152
3. Lisbon 151
4. Vienna 141
5. Barcelona 139
6. Prague 134
7. Rome 119
8. Madrid 109
9. Dublin 104
10. Seoul 103
“By sharing intelligence of association meetings, our members help to boost bid wins across the alliance. This collaboration resulted in BestCities destinations hosting an impressive number of meetings that were planned during a global pandemic, and I’m confident that, continuing forward, we will continue to see our rankings rise.”
Interested in rankings, yesterday we shared Cvent’s rankings for top meeting destinations and hotels.
