New figures published today by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) shows that London has continued its ascent of world rankings as a major centre for business tourism.
Last year, in addition to hosting the Olympics and Paralympic Games, London hosted a record number of global business events which has now elevated the city’s status to sixth place globally. The city has also recently secured some of the most prestigious medical congresses and annual general meetings. Events of this scale typically bring up to £80 million in economic benefit to the host city and support the business events industry which is worth £40 billion to the UK overall economy.
The ICCA report showed London ahead of competitors such as New York, Beijing, Hong Kong, Chicago and Sydney whilst overtaking some of its closer European rivals such as Rome, Athens, Munich, Brussels and Edinburgh. The ICCA rankings are collated and published annually.
The continued rise for London has taken place over the last five years which in 2008 saw London at 19th position. The Mayor of London then tasked his promotional organisation London & Partners and the official convention bureauto create a dedicated team to target, bid for and win major business events for London.
As a result, over the last 12 months London has announced a series of major congress wins. This includes the leading medical associations, EASL, which will host its 2014 conference at ExCeL London. The five day event is expected to bring some 10,000 medical professionals to the capital and will generate over £25 million of economic benefit to the capital. Last October, London also announced the biggest ever congresses win for The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) in 2015. The ESC Congress is the largest cardiology meeting in the world and will see around 35,000 medical professionals descend on the capital for the five day event from 29 August – 2 September 2015.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, commented: ‘London’s popularity as a host for major business events continues to rise thanks to a concerted effort to capture more of the fiercely competitive business tourism market. We have the expertise, the transport system, venues and accommodation to ensure these events will receive a world class experience. The city’s extraordinary success in hosting last year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games will only build on this success.’
