Porto awarded at the Meetings Star Awards

# tags: Porto

The Meetings Star Awards, organised by Conventa, recognised the best European destinations in the events sector. Porto was awarded.

Porto took third place in category L (destinations that can host up to 2,000 conference attendees) in the Meeting Star awards, presented during Conventa 2026. The organisation considered Porto to be ‘a well-connected and culturally vibrant destination with an ever-growing international profile’. According to Conventa, the city ‘combines a strong heritage with modern meeting facilities, offering a variety of flexible venues and a compact, easily accessible urban layout, supported by an international airport’. The destination was further enhanced by hosting major global events, notably the ICCA congress in 2025.

The Meetings Star awards destinations in five categories: XL, L, M, and S and Best Destinations in New Europe, selected from a list of 149 cities. The methodology for calculating the results goes beyond the number of events held in the destinations, also assessing their maximum capacities, resilience and the real needs of event organisers.

Commenting on the selection, Gorazd Cad, director of Conventa, said: "Our assessment is not just a benchmarking exercise, but above all a strategic development tool designed to strengthen the long-term competitiveness of individual destinations. It provides destinations with an independent and professional external perspective on their overall offering and actively encourages continuous improvement, innovation and the pursuit of the highest standards of excellence. As a systematic and long-term framework, the methodology allows for consistent monitoring of progress on individual assessment criteria over time and meaningful comparison with international best practices. Destinations adopt our methodology because they are committed to increasing their visibility, quality and competitiveness — and because they aspire to become or remain globally competitive”.

Category XL – Destinations that can host more than 2,000 conference delegates

Winner: Copenhagen, Denmark
2nd place: Vienna, Austria
3rd place: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Category L – Destinations that can host up to 2,000 conference delegates

Winner: Krakow, Poland
2nd place: Ljubljana, Slovenia
3rd place: Porto, Portugal

Category M – Destinations that can accommodate up to 1,200 conference delegates

Winner: Portorož, Slovenia
2nd place: Dubrovnik, Croatia
3rd place: Opatija, Croatia

Category S – Destinations that can accommodate up to 600 conference delegates

Winner: Kitzbühel, Austria
2nd place: Zakopane, Poland
3rd place: Zell am See, Austria

Best destinations in New Europe

Winner: Prague, Czech Republic
Joint 2nd place: Athens, Greece and Budapest, Hungary
3rd place: Warsaw, Poland

Conventa took place from 10 to 12 February in Ljubljana, Slovenia.