Vienna made the top of ICCA's city rankings. Photo Credit: SASITHORN for Adobe Stock
After a two-year hiatus, the International Congress and Convention Association released its annual country and city rankings for 2022. About 85 percent of all meetings held last year were in person, which led ICCA to make the decision to return to normal rankings. More than 10,500 conferences took place last year, 9,000 of which were in person or hybrid.
"The ICCA country and city rankings always generate huge interest," said ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath. "It’s heartening to see the drive toward in-person meetings is once more very strong, and we predict this trend will grow throughout the coming year."
The United States, which has held the top country position for more than two decades, retained that title, hosting 690 conferences. Spain came in second place (528), followed by Italy (522), Germany (484), France (472), the United Kingdom (449), Portugal (294), the Netherlands (253), Belgium (234) and Canada (233).
In ICCA’s city rankings, European destinations dominated the top 10 and Vienna took home the gold with 162 meetings. The capital of Austria was closely followed by Lisbon (144), Paris (134), Barcelona (133), Prague (129), Madrid (128), Berlin (113), Athens (109), Brussels (108) and London (106).
Following are the top 20 destinations in each category.
Top 20 countries for association conferences
1. United States (690)
2. Spain (528)
3. Italy (522)
4. Germany (484)
5. France (472)
6. United Kingdom (449)
7. Portugal (294)
8. Netherlands (253)
9. Belgium (234)
10. Canada (233)
11. Austria (232)
12. Japan (228)
13. Greece (185)
14. Sweden (179)
15. Switzerland (175)
16. Denmark (169)
17. Republic of Korea (162)
18. Ireland (152)
19. Norway (148)
20. Czech Republic (146)
Top 20 cities for association conferences
1. Vienna (162)
2. Lisbon (144)
3. Paris (134)
4. Barcelona (133)
5. Prague (129)
6. Madrid (128)
7. Berlin (113)
8. Athens (109)
9. Brussels (108)
10. London (106)
11. Dublin (105)
12. Copenhagen (102)
13. Singapore (101)
14. Rome (79)
15. Amsterdam (73)
16. Helsinki (69)
17. Oslo (67)
18-21. Buenos Aires, Milan, Seoul, Stockholm (tied at 66)