Despite first signs of recovery, the meetings industry continued to face challenges in 2021 due to the pandemic. This is also reflected in the latest ICCA analysis of worldwide association meetings. For this, 8,000 international meetings planned for 2021 were analyzed and categorized according to the extent to which they were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the ICCA Ranking Report 2021, Vienna occupies 1st place worldwide in the overall ranking. The report took into account 92 congresses held, nine of which were unrestricted, 22 hybrid and 61 virtual (113 congresses were planned). In 2nd and 3rd place in the overall ranking are Lisbon (91 congresses held) and Athens (66). They are followed by Barcelona, Singapore, Madrid, Prague, Paris, Berlin and Brussels. 

At country level, Austria ranks 11th worldwide. The USA, Spain and Germany top the list. 

"As challenging as the past years have been, Vienna remains one of the world's leading meeting destinations. The first place in the ICCA Report 2021 proves this once again. This is a strong signal from Meeting Destination Vienna and is thanks to the tireless efforts and cohesion of Vienna's meetings industry," says Christian Woronka, head of the Vienna Convention Bureau and Market Management at the Vienna Tourist Board. 

Evaluation by Destination Performance Index 

The so-called Destination Performance Index (DPI) was used to analyze the current ICCA ranking. It evaluates, among other things, the success of the destinations in the original bid, the adaptability and the technological capabilities to convert face-to-face events into virtual or hybrid meetings. In contrast to pre-pandemic rankings, it no longer only takes into account meetings that actually took place on site, but also postponed or relocated events as well as hybrid or virtual forms.

More information on the International Congress and Convention Association: www.iccaworld.org 
The entire report is available to ICCA members.