Once again US and Vienna came in the first place of ICCA rankings in the countries and cities charts respectively. The ICCA rankings cover meetings organised by international associations which…
Once again US and Vienna came in the first place of ICCA rankings in the countries and cities charts respectively. The ICCA rankings cover meetings organised by international associations which take place on a regular basis and which rotate between a minimum of three countries.
The data represents a snapshot of qualifying events in the ICCA Association Database as sampled on 10 April 2007. ICCA`s Association Database is designed as a sales and marketing resource for its members to target future international association meetings, which is why it does not include one-off events or those which do not move between locations. This year the ICCA Data researchers have identified 5,838 events which took place in 2006, a rise of 523 over 2005. Partly this reflects the strength of the market, partly it is thanks to a record number of 227 ICCA members sending us their calendar information to help identify new events.
Table 1: ICCA country and city ranking measured by number of meetings organised in 2006
|
Ranking
|
Country
|
#Meetings
|
|
1
|
U.S.A.
|
414
|
|
2
|
Germany
|
334
|
|
3
|
United Kingdom
|
279
|
|
4
|
France
|
269
|
|
5
|
Spain
|
266
|
|
6
|
Italy
|
209
|
|
7
|
Brazil
|
207
|
|
8
|
Austria
|
204
|
|
9
|
Australia
|
190
|
|
10
|
The Netherlands
|
187
|
|
Ranking
|
City
|
#Meetings
|
|
1
|
Vienna
|
147
|
|
2
|
Paris
|
130
|
|
3
|
Singapore
|
127
|
|
4
|
Barcelona
|
103
|
|
5
|
Berlin
|
91
|
|
6
|
Budapest
|
86
|
|
7
|
Seoul
|
85
|
|
8
|
Prague
|
82
|
|
9
|
Copenhagen
|
69
|
|
|
Lisbon
|
69
|
As in 2004 and 2005, the U.S.A. and Germany are the number one and two country respectively, measured by the number of international meetings organised in 2006. The United Kingdom is now third and France fourth, they both climbed one place compared to the 2005 ranking at the cost of Spain, which is now ranked fifth. Italy has also climbed one place to sixth. For the first time ever, a Latin American country is represented in the top ten: Brazil is taking seventh place in 2006. Austria and Australia have swapped places and are numbers eight and nine respectively. The Netherlands drops four places but remains in the top ten on tenth place.
As in 2005, Vienna tops the charts as the most popular city. Paris jumps four places to number two at the cost of Singapore, Barcelona and Berlin which remain in the same order but all drop one place to respectively third, fourth and fifth place. Budapest and Seoul maintain their position in the top ten taking sixth and seventh place. Prague, which is eighth, and Copenhagen and Lisbon, which share ninth place, are all three newcomers in the top ten. ICCA is now working on the details behind these headline results.
The full ICCA statistics report for 2006 will be released early June. The statistics report covering 1997-2006 will be published early July. These reports can guide suppliers in any strategic decisions and are a must-have if you are a supplier or client in the meetings industry.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
