Vienna Achieves Industry Recognition

After the International Congress Convention Association (ICCA) declared Vienna the fourth most popular destination for international congresses worldwide in 2015, the Union of International Associations (UIA) followed suit by also awarding fourth spot to the Austrian capital.

Of the international congresses hosted in Vienna, 279 complied with the criteria for inclusion in the UIA ranking. This was enough to merit fourth spot for Vienna in a list led by Brussels (657). Second and third place went to Singapore (643) and Seoul (467), respectively. Vienna finished ahead of Paris (276) in fifth place, followed by Bangkok (229), Tokyo (215), Berlin (185), Geneva (171) and Barcelona (156). This latest international success reflects the growth achieved by Vienna’s meetings industry in 2015. At EUR 1,068 million, Vienna’s contribution to nationwide induced economic impact passed the one billion euro mark for the first time in 2015. Meetings and congresses in Vienna also set a new all-time record for overnight stays, at 1.7 million bed-nights for the year.

Broken down by country, Austria claimed 11th place with 338 events. This particular category was led by the USA (880), followed by Korea (780), Belgium (726), Singapore (643), France (489), Germany (437), Japan (431), Spain (411), Italy (383) and the United Kingdom (344). Vienna accounted for 82.5% of the Austrian total.