17 April 2008

US again tops in international meetings

The US and Germany this year continued a trend since 2004: they are the number one and two countries respectively measured by the number of international meetings, according to the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA).

Spain, fifth in 2006, climbed two places to third in 2007, at the cost of The United Kingdom and France, which both dropped one place in the ranking to respectively fourth and fifth.

Italy remains sixth and Japan, which was twelfth in 2006, is seventh in 2007.

Brazil, which was the first Latin American country ever to make the top 10 in 2006, consolidated its position by taking eighth place in 2007. Austria and Canada completed the top 10 at respectively ninth and tenth place. Belgium and Finland were both newcomers in the top 20.

This year the ICCA Data researchers have identified over 6,500 events which took place in 2007, a rise of approximately 800 over 2006.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœPartly this reflects the strength of the market, partly it is thanks to a record number of ICCA members sending us their calendar information to help identify new events,Ã¢â¬~ says the organization

The ICCA rankings cover meetings organized by international associations which take place on a regular basis and which rotate between a minimum of three countries.

ICCA's Association Database is designed as a sales and marketing resource for its members to target future international association meetings, which is why it does not include one-off events or those which do not move between locations.

Report by David Wilkening