ICCA ranking is back… and Spain does great!

At the end of 2022, ICCA decided to revert to normal rankings again based on the observation that the pandemic and the virtual events craze (which obviously did not justify a city ranking) were over, with approximately 85% of all meetings held in-person. However, the association recognises that certain countries and territories were still working within the confines of COVID-19 restrictions in 2022, so this ranking should be taken with caution.

Pandemic is over? Not quite yet. ICCA’s Research team identified over 10,500 meetings of which some 9,000 meetings were held in-person or in a hybrid format. As the association meetings industry is still catching up to the numbers of the last pre-pandemic year (13,254 meetings in 2019). But we are getting there…

Countries: Spain goes up to number 2 (from 4^th in 2020)

1 U.S.A
2 Spain
3 Italy
4 Germany
5 France
6 United Kingdom
7 Portugal
8 Netherlands
9 Belgium
10 Canada

City-wise, some key destinations are still faring really well, like Vienna, a classic in this ranking coming in at number 1. Very competitive Lisbon is at an impressive second spot and Paris, previously number 1, goes down to number 3. And yes, the duo of Barcelona and Madrid are still in the top 6, making Spain the only country with 2 cities in the top 10, an impressive achievement. Some go down like London (only 10^th) and Berlin (8^th, previously 3^rd). Another reading is the amazing strength of Europe, with 8 of the top 10 destinations!