United Kingdom was the fourth country in the International Congress and Convention Association’s (ICCA) top organized by number of meetings organised in 2012, with London placing six in the top cities positioned as a major centre for business tourism. This city placed seven the year before, and is now very close to enter top 5 next year.
In 2008 London occupied the 19th position in the top, therefore we can easily see that these past five years brought a significant growth for the city. This year, London placed before important competitors such as New York, Beijing, Hong Kong, Chicago and Sydney.
USA is the number one country from the point of view of number of meetings organised last year with 833 such events, followed by Germany (649 such events), Spain (550), United Kingdom (477) and France (469).
The top five cities with the most meetings organized in 2012 were Vienna (195), Paris (181), Berlin (172), Madrid (164) and Barcelona (154).
Funny thing is that the first five cities are from Europe with Vienna retaining its top position, but overall, in the countries top, USA placed first.
“Last year was a phenomenal year for London where we showcased to the world that the city can successfully deliver the world’s greatest event – The Olympic & Paralympic Games. Moving up to 6th place is a great achievement and is testament to the attraction of London as a leading events destination and we are proud to have played a crucial role in helping our city to deliver and continue to move up the rankings, ” said David Pegler, CEO, ExCeL London.
“It is great to see that London continues to benefit from increased activity and is building further recognition as a major convention and conference destination. It is testament to the hard work of both the London and Partners Association team and all the venues, such as ourselves, in capitalising on the effect of staging the Olympics in London and showcasing the fabulous city that London is. This is great news and we look forward to working closely with London and Partners to get to the Number 5 spot next year!” said Sue Etherington , Commercial Director at The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (QEIICC).