Every year, it is just a handful of congresses that make the difference as to who comes out on top in the global competition for a place on the podium. According to the International Congress and Convention Association's (ICCA) recently published figures for international congress events held worldwide, Vienna came in behind Paris (156), Singapore (152) and Lisbon (151) with 141 congresses for 2023 as a whole. It was followed by Barcelona (139), Prague (134), Rome (119), Madrid (109), Dublin (104) and Seoul (103). Vienna has been ranked number one worldwide seven times in the 15 previous rankings (since 2008), most recently in 2022. The 2020 ranking was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. In line with the international trend of increasingly holding physical meetings again, the current ICCA ranking, as in 2022, only refers to those meetings that took place on site at the conference destination.
 
Norbert Kettner, Director of the Vienna Tourist Board
"We are delighted with Vienna’s latest high ranking in an extremely competitive global environment. Vienna’s strong 3rd place ranking in the ICCA Europe table is an achievement that – in keeping with the spirit of the visitor economy – is thanks to the outstanding teamwork of all the players in Vienna’s meetings industry, from congress centers and venues to the hotel industry, agencies and, of course, the customers we have been able to attract to Vienna. I would like to thank them all and congratulate my colleagues in Paris on their 1st place finish."

Austria ranks 14th in the world

The overall ICCA ranking also sheds light on the performance of countries as a whole: Austria (203) ranks 14th globally, with the USA (690), Italy (553) and Spain (505) sitting at the top of the list. More than two thirds (69%) of all congresses held in Austria took place in Vienna, according to the ICCA statistics.

Link:
International Congress and Convention Association www.iccaworld.org