Paris and USA top ICCA destination rankings, as meetings rise in 2019

The recently published (2019) ICCA rankings show record number of meetings, and Paris and the USA retaining their top spots in the City and Country rankings lists respectively. The new annual statistics from International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)captured 13,254 rotating association meetings in 2019, the highest ever recorded annual figure and an increase of 317 on last year’s record-breaking number. The ICCA database now includes 21,000 regularly occurring meeting series, 260,000 meeting editions and 12,000 international associations. ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath said the association’s annual statistics report provided great insight into global trends in the meetings industry. “Given the current circumstances, it is great to once again highlight the consistent growth in association meetings globally,” he said. “These figures show the need and importance of face-to-face events, and consequently that the industry will be instrumental in the global recovery when the time is right.” Paris is ranked No.1 city for the second year in a row, followed by Lisbon, which notched the highest increase in number of events (+38) and moved up four places from last year. Regular contenders of the Top 5, Berlin (3rd), Barcelona (4th) and Madrid (5th), have made it once again, but Berlin and Madrid swapped places from last year. Impressive city newcomers to the Top 50 by number of meetings are Valencia (44 places higher) and Istanbul (40 places higher), respectively holding 48th and 44th position. In the Country rankings, the USA retained its top spot and the Top 20 remains relatively unchanged. France moved up to take third position from Spain, while similar rank swapping of one position took place between China-P.R and Japan, Portugal and Canada, Australia and Republic of Korea, and Belgium and Sweden. Abstract analysis That abstract offers more detail with Barcelona topping the list for most meetings participants for a second year in a row with 157,000 delegates. In this city list, Paris comes in second place, followed by Madrid and then Lisbon. The USA retains the country rankings delegate numbers top spot with 357,000 delegates hosted. Spain, Germany, France and Italy make up the top five, with Italy pushing out Canada from fifth spot. Key trends In 2019, the average total expenditure on all meetings in the ICCA Association Database was almost US$11bn – excluding spin-off investments and economic development. The months September, October and June are still the most popular choices for the association sector. Medical Science (17%), Technology (15%) and Science (13%) are the three most popular international association meeting topics, the 2019 report reveals. Other trends to emerge from the new ICCA report included Europe holding the largest regional share of meetings, hosting 53% of all association meetings held in 2019. Asia-Pacific follows, with a 23% slice. When comparing the years 1963 and 2019, Europe and North America collectively have lost almost a quarter of their market share to the other regions over that time. Asia has shown the biggest increase (+16%). ICCA continues to emphasise that its annual report is a snapshot of just one segment of the meetings industry, focused on charting the growth of international association meetings. Only those meetings that meet ICCA’s stringent assessment criteria – rotating between at least three countries, have a proven attendance of at least 50 participants, and are held on a regular basis – are recorded within the global association’s annual statistics. The full ICCA statistics reports are available to members in the ICCA Destination Comparison Tool. • ICCA has also created an ICCA Recovery Kit to support members on the road to recovery. The kit is developed to highlight the most important free benefits ICCA deems most useful, as well as additional opportunities that can help members prepare for business post Covid-19.