ICCA Ranks U.S., Vienna on Top
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 5/12/2008
For the third year in a row, the Intl. Congress & Convention Assn. named the United States the most popular country to hold an international meeting in and Vienna, Austria, as the most popular city.
In 2007, 467 of what the ICCA defines as an international meeting were held in the U.S., and 154 in Vienna alone. In order to qualify, meetings must be organized by international associations, take place regularly and rotate between at least three countries.
According to the ICCA, its researchers have identified more than 6,500 qualifying events that took place in 2007, 800 more than qualified in 2006. The organization attributed the rise to not only strength in the meetings marketplace, but also an increase in ICCA members sending in information.
Since 2004, the U.S. and Germany have held the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. Last year, Spain jumped two places, from fifth to third, causing the United Kingdom and France to drop one place each, to fourth and fifth, respectively. Belgium and Finland are both newcomers to the top 20.
Second to Vienna was Berlin, with 123 international meetings. Taipei, No. 40 in 2006, leaped into the top 20 at No. 18 with 67 meetings.
The top five countries included the U.S.; Germany, 429; Spain, 303; U.K., 281; and France, 255.
The top five cities are Vienna; Berlin; Singapore, 120; Paris, 115; and Barcelona, 106.
The ICCA's 10-year statistics report covering 1998–2007 will be published in early July.
