For the first time in eight years, Vienna has not ranked in first place in the global statistics of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), having been relegated to third place in 2013 by Paris and Madrid. The Vienna Convention Bureau congratulates these two cities on their rankings, and is glad that Vienna was able to secure a place on the winners’ podium despite having experienced a weaker year.
In the survey of international congresses held worldwide in 2013 just published by the ICCA, Vienna was not at the top of the ranking for the first time in eight years. With 182 such events, the Austrian capital was relegated to third place by Paris (204) and Madrid (186). Christian Mutschlechner, Director of the Vienna Tourist Board’s Vienna Convention Bureau, commented: “We heartily congratulate our colleagues in Paris and Madrid on the success of their destinations, and are thrilled that Vienna was nevertheless able to join them on the winners’ podium, albeit in third place. In view of the global competition, even getting a place there is an achievement which we are proud of.”
The other top ten cities in the ICCA’s list for 2013 are Barcelona (179), Berlin (178), Singapore (175), London (166), Istanbul (146), and Lisbon and Seoul ex aequo with 125 each. The list of countries is headed by the United States with 829 events, ahead of Germany (722) and Spain (562). Other places were taken by France (527), the United Kingdom (525), Italy (447), Japan (342), China (340), Brazil (315) and the Netherlands (302). Austria ranked in 14th place with 244 events.
“In 2013 the ICCA once again increased the number of events covered by its statistics,” explained Mutschlechner. “This translates into additional business opportunities for all ICCA members, which also includes Vienna. The ICCA statistics are generally an important trend barometer and a reliable benchmarking tool. Besides, no destination should fail to keep its own conference statistics in order to underscore the importance of the conference industry to the respective business location.”
