With 154 congresses, Vienna occupies 1st place worldwide in the newly published ICCA ranking (www.iccaworld.org) of globally held international congress events in 2024. The city has climbed back to the top of the world rankings from 4th place the previous year. Lisbon (153 congresses) and Singapore (144) are in 2nd and 3rd place, followed by Barcelona (142), Prague (131), Paris (124), Seoul (124), Bangkok (115), Rome (114), and Athens (111).

Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig: 
"With first place in the ranking, Vienna has further solidified its position as a globally leading conference metropolis: In the previous year, congresses and corporate meetings generated added value of 1.3 billion euros and created 23,500 year-round jobs, extending far beyond the tourism industry. Vienna's meeting industry is a prime example of how we position ourselves as a cosmopolitan metropolis and generate benefits and quality of life for the people living here and for our economy through tourism. The continued development of the city as a meeting destination therefore plays a central role in Vienna's Economic and Innovation Strategy 2030."

Norbert Kettner, CEO of the Vienna Tourist Board: 
"The current ICCA ranking clearly shows: Vienna has once again proven its leadership position in an extremely competitive environment. Alongside Vienna’s rich cultural life, congresses are a major strength of our city's tourism sector. They drive traffic to meeting venues and accommodation providers and bring value creation and year-round jobs to the visitor economy. With a strong leverage effect on price stability in the hotel industry, they promote the advancement of quality tourism. That is why our strategic focus will continue to be on Vienna’s meetings industry. In the future, every 10th overnight stay in the city should still come from a congress or corporate meeting."

Anita Paic, head of the Vienna Convention Bureau: 
"With united efforts, we have once again catapulted Vienna to the top of global congress destinations. This once again highlights the excellent cooperation of all players in Vienna's meetings industry - from congress centers and the hospitality sector to agencies and joint legacy projects. Not to forget our clients, whom we were able to attract to Vienna, and their continued trust in the meeting destination Vienna. We see this latest success as a mandate to continue working with full commitment on Vienna's future as a meeting metropolis. Currently, around 250 bids for meetings through 2038 are underway worldwide."

Austria ranks 16th worldwide

The ICCA also provides insights into national-level performance: With 233 congresses, Austria ranks 16th globally. The list of countries is led by the USA (709), Italy (635), and Spain (536). According to ICCA's counting method, two-thirds (66%) of all congresses held in Austria took place in Vienna.

More information:
International Congress and Convention Association
www.iccaworld.org