Vienna Wins Industry Award

For the seventh time in succession, Vienna has topped the world-wide rankings as a destination for international congresses. The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) published its 2011 congress statistics almost simultaneously with a ceremony held at the City Hall by the City of Vienna to honor Vienna’s 2011 congress organizers. This produced an unexpected bombshell during the celebrations.

Vienna almost seems to have taken out a permanent lease on first place as a destination for international congresses. According to the ICCA statistics, the Austrian capital staged 181 such events in 2011, putting it at the top of the worldwide league for the seventh time in succession. It was followed by Paris with 174 international congresses and Barcelona with 150. The other cities in the top ten were Berlin (147), Singapore (142), Madrid (130), London (115), Amsterdam (114), Istanbul (113) and Beijing (111). Austria was in 10th place in the countries ranking, headed – also almost by tradition – by the USA (759). Not fewer than 68% of Austria’s 267 international congresses took place in Vienna. The best placed countries after the USA were Germany (577) and Spain (463).