Portugal makes ICCA's Top 10 ranking
12/05/2017
Portugal has moved up two places in the ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) ranking and entered the Top 10 of the countries ranking with 287 international events in 2016 - the same as Canada, with whom it shares the 10th position. Lisbon remains in ninth place in the ICCA ranking by cities.
Only regular events of associations that attract more than 50 people and are held in at least three countries are registered in this annual ICCA ranking. According to the data released, the number of events continues to grow, last year having doubled the number of events compared to 2006: six thousand events were held in 2006, while in 2016 this number doubled (12 thousand) .
As in the previous year, the country list is led by the United States (934 events, nine more than in 2015), followed by Germany (689) and the United Kingdom (582). France (545) and Spain (533) change positions compared to 2015, being in 2016 the fourth and fifth in the list, respectively. Next are Italy (468), China and Japan (410), Netherlands (368), Canada and Portugal (287). Brazil, which last year ranked in 11th place, dropped to 15th place.
Lisboa keeps 9th place
About the cities ranking, Paris won first place in the list, with 196 events. Vienna (186) and Barcelona (181) occupy the second and third positions, respectively. Next is Berlin (176), London (153), Singapore (151), Amsterdam and Madrid (144), Lisbon (138) and Seoul (137). Even with fewer events compared to the previous year (145 in 2015), the Portuguese capital holds the ninth place in the list.
"Once again our report shows clear evidence of resilience and continued growth in the sector of international association meetings. It is not only the traditional business meetings of associations that are in good health: new types of events are being created by groups of scientists and doctors, destinations are planning and hosting their own STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) meetings and festivals, online discussions are moving into the real world of personal interactions and even corporate events are evolving into community encounters with suppliers, customers, partners, investors, users and academics, blurring the lines between profitable and non-profit sectors. The information revolution and the knowledge economy are continuously growing, so it's no surprise that the entire association meetings community is responding so dynamically," says Martin Sirk, ICCA's CEO.
