The latest data shows that Prague has increased the number of meetings, conferences, and delegates who attended: the Czech capital hosted around 5,000 professional events in 2023, drawing 700,000 attendees. In a global survey of top meeting sites, Prague ranked sixth. It beat Madrid, Seoul, London, Berlin, and Tokyo.
The meetings industry in Prague is growing, although not as fast as in 2019.
After a pandemic break, the capital’s meetings industry is rising. The Prague Convention Bureau and the Czech Statistical Office reported 4,889 meetings and conferences in 2023, with 691,103 delegates, a 25% and 12% increase, respectively.
In terms of the number of delegates, we are at almost 97% of 2019’s performance, but in terms of the number of events, we are only at 82%. The data only confirms the trend of recent years, when fewer meetings and conferences are held, but with a much higher turnout of delegates. In our statistics we see that the number of events attended by 500 or more delegates has increased year on year. At the same time, we see an increase in the average length of an event, mainly due to a sharp increase in the number of meetings that last four or more days and a decrease in the segment of shorter, mostly two-day, events.
Roman Muška, Managing Director of the Prague Convention Bureau
Return of global events and creditworthy visitors
Prague’s tourist strategy targets high-net-worth clients, notably meeting delegates. Congresses usually take place in spring and fall, so they don’t stress the site during the peak tourist season and spend up to three times more than normal tourists.
The return of international expert events to Prague helps attract smart clients. According to the Prague Convention Bureau, international meetings and conferences in Prague have climbed by 54% year-over-year, balancing foreign (49.3%) and local events (50.7%). Long-term, 88% of occurrences have come from Europe.
After four years, the US returned to the top among source nations in 2023, followed by the UK, Germany, France, and Belgium (Roman Muška elaborates). Medicine, economics, finance, business, and IT & technology have traditionally been popular themes for Prague delegates.
The increase in the number of association conventions occurs mainly due to the joint efforts of all stakeholders over the past years. In most cases, it takes several years from launching the candidacy process itself to the subsequent implementation of major association meetings. However, to remain at the top of the meetings destinations in the future, we need to continue to develop and invest in the meetings industry. In addition to association congresses, which we have been focusing on for a long time and which are systematically supported by the City of Prague in the form of various incentives, we must not neglect the segment of corporate conferences and incentive events, which have high spending rates in destinations and thus fit in with the City’s targeting of creditworthy clients.
Roman Muška, Managing Director of the Prague Convention Bureau
Locally, Prague is a top city; however, Singapore is ahead internationally
International event organizers in the Czech Republic have long chosen Prague. In 2023, 35.5% of Czech events went to Prague, according to the Czech Statistical Office. The South Moravian Region (18.9%), Olomouc (8.3%), and Central Bohemian (7.4%) followed.
Prague remains a top meeting venue in international competitiveness. In the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) rating, Prague placed sixth internationally and fifth in Europe. The rating is based on the number of meetings with international rotation and more than 50 delegates.
In 2022, Singapore rose from 13th to second position in the worldwide meetings rankings, surpassing Prague, which hosted 4% more ICCA-compliant association events.
Due to prolonged pandemic limitations, Asia’s tourist and conference industries took off later than elsewhere. Seoul (10th), Tokyo (13th), and Bangkok (15th) round out the top 15 conference locations.
What will 2024 be like?
Prague and other worldwide cities are seeing a comeback in the meetings sector in 2022. The International Congress Association’s “ICCA 60 Years Report” shows that congresses have more than quadrupled in 60 years, making Prague’s competitiveness fierce.
The research also expects worldwide events to return to 90% of 2019 and delegates to 95% in 2023, which the Czech capital has only partially reached. Experts expect the congress sector to increase delegate numbers by 37% and events by 1% in 2024.
