Lisbon is the new world leader in congresses according to ICCA

# tags: Lisbon , ICCA , Portugal , Porto , Meetings Industry

Portugal has reached 8th place in the world in the 2025 ranking, driven by Lisbon’s global leadership and Porto’s rise.

In 2025, Portugal consolidated its position among the world’s leading destinations for international congresses, reaching 8th place in the global ranking of ICCA – International Congress and Convention Association, with 356 international association meetings held. Compared to 2024, the country has moved up one place and significantly increased the number of events, rising from 290 to 356 congresses.

The standout achievement goes to Lisbon, which has risen to the top spot globally among the most sought-after cities for international conferences, hosting 188 meetings and overtaking Paris and Barcelona. The Portuguese capital thus confirms the destination’s growing appeal in the international association sector.

In the GlobeWatch 2025 ICCA Country and City Rankings report, ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath emphasises that the sector continues to generate an impact “far beyond short-term tourism expenditure”, contributing to “scientific advancement, policy development, social legacy and international collaboration”.

Porto accelerates growth and strengthens its national position

Portugal’s growth is also underpinned by Porto’s rise, which has seen one of the most significant climbs in the global rankings. The city climbs from 34th place in 2024 to 25th place in 2025, increasing from 59 to 84 international meetings. The ICCA identifies precisely this dynamic as one of the most significant trends in Europe. “Lisbon’s global strength is complemented by Porto’s continued rise, demonstrating how second-tier cities can actively boost national performance,” the report states.

The document also highlights that cities such as Porto, Valencia and Poznan demonstrate how “the European meetings ecosystem has broadened”, reinforcing a model of distributed competitiveness that extends beyond the capital cities. The hosting of the ICCA Congress in Porto in 2025 is also cited as an example of the ability of secondary cities to deliver “a high-impact, future-oriented event model”.

After Lisbon and Porto, Cascais (19 conferences) ranks as the third-highest-ranked Portuguese destination in the global rankings, followed by Coimbra (16) and Braga (8). Coimbra has improved its performance compared to 2024, whilst Braga has consolidated its position in the national top five. Aveiro, Évora, Faro and Funchal each hosted five international meetings in 2025, whilst the Azores hosted four events. Barcelos hosted three conferences and Vila Real two. The list also includes destinations such as Alcobaça, Covilhã, Fátima, Guarda, Guimarães, Portalegre, Rio Maior, Santarém, Viana do Castelo and Viseu, demonstrating an increasingly widespread presence of Portuguese cities on the international map of association congresses.

Portugal strengthens its European standing

In the European context, Portugal has risen to 6th place among the countries hosting the highest number of international conferences, overtaking the Netherlands. The European top three remains led by Italy, Germany and Spain. Among European cities, Lisbon tops the continental ranking, whilst Porto ranks 17th, consolidating its position among the leading European conference destinations.

The ICCA identifies a dual trend in the European market: on the one hand, leading cities such as Lisbon, Paris, Copenhagen and Berlin are consolidating their position; on the other, emerging or second-tier destinations such as Porto, Vilnius and Reykjavik are experiencing faster and more consistent growth.

According to the report, the future of the European sector will depend on “greater coordination between public policy, investment and industry positioning”, with the winning destinations being those that use conferences as tools to create “ecosystems of innovation, knowledge and lasting impact”.

The Iberian Peninsula stands out as one of the strongest regions in the world

Portugal and Spain are strengthening the Iberian Peninsula’s influence in the global international conference sector. Spain remains in the world’s top four, with 544 international meetings in 2025, despite dropping one place compared with the previous year, having been overtaken by Germany. Barcelona remains among the world’s leading cities and is a frontrunner in specific scientific fields, such as the sciences.

Combining the results of the two countries, the Iberian Peninsula hosted 900 international meetings in 2025 — 544 in Spain and 356 in Portugal — representing around 7.2% of all events recorded by the ICCA worldwide. Iberian dominance is particularly evident in Europe, where Lisbon ranks first and Barcelona comes third among the continent’s leading cities for international conferences.

In addition to Lisbon’s global leadership, Portugal also stands out in the ICCA sectoral rankings. The country ranks 8th worldwide in the field of Medical Sciences, whilst Lisbon comes 3rd globally in this category. In the Sciences ranking, Lisbon ranks 5th and Porto enters the global top 10 directly, occupying 9th place.

For a conference to be included in the ICCA rankings, the event must meet certain criteria. Only international association meetings held on a regular basis — annually, biennially or at other defined intervals — which rotate between at least three different countries and have a minimum of 50 in-person participants are considered. Excluded, for example, are corporate events, trade fairs, sporting competitions, government meetings or one-off gatherings. The ICCA also emphasises that its rankings specifically represent the international associations segment and are therefore considered one of the world’s leading barometers of the congress industry.