Estonia has gained an impressive amount of ground in the newly-released 2011 International Congress and Convention Association rankings list, moving up five slots from the previous year’s position to reach 41st place.
The number of association conferences held in the country jumped from 43 to 61 between the two years, an increase of nearly 50%.
The nation’s capital, Tallinn, also scored big in the list, going from 65th place to 43rd. The city hosted 49 ICCA conferences last year compared to 28 in 2010.
According to the ECB, the improvements can be attributed to its close cooperation with Enterprise Estonia and the cities of Tallinn and Tartu, introduction of a Conference Ambassador Programme, increased flight connections and improvements made to venues. It also credited Enterprise Estonia’s Conference Support Scheme for attracting more international events to the country.
ECB statistics show that there were 565 international conferences held in Estonia last year, their total number of delegates reaching 68,122. The average number of delegates per conference was 120.
The Estonian Convention Bureau is a non-profit organisation established jointly by public and private sector bodies. It was established in March 2008 in order to attract international conventions to Estonia. The bureau’s 23members include the cities of Tallinn and Tartu, the national carrier Estonian Air, and a number of DMCs, PCOs and hotels. It is co-financed by the Estonian Tourist Board, a division of Enterprise Estonia.
