Vienna took the lead as the host of the highest number of international association meetings last year, surpassing all other cities, according to the latest rankings by the International Congress and Convention Association. With 162 meetings, the Austrian capital claimed the top spot, followed by Lisbon (144) in second place and Paris (134) in third. The top 10 list was dominated by European cities, including Barcelona (133), Prague (129), Madrid (128), Berlin (133), Athens (109), Brussels (108), and London (106).
In terms of countries, the United States secured the first position with 690 meetings, followed by Spain (528), Italy (522), Germany (484), France (472), and the United Kingdom (449). Portugal (294), Netherlands (253), Belgium (234), and Canada (233) also made it to the top rankings.
These rankings were based on a total of 10,500 internationally rotating meetings held in 2022. Christian Woronka, Head of the Vienna Convention Bureau, sees this achievement as a mandate to continue focusing on Vienna’s future as a meeting metropolis, with approximately 200 congress and corporate meeting applications currently in the pipeline. Vienna aims to position itself as a modern meeting destination and a role model in ecological and social sustainability.
Senthil Gopinath, CEO of ICCA, acknowledged the industry’s keen interest in the ICCA Rankings. He noted the strong drive towards in-person meetings and predicted that this trend would continue to grow in the coming year.