According to the figures (2008) published by ICCA (International Congress & Convention Association), the congress industry displays encouraging results worldwide.

The association identified 7,475 events in 2008, which represents a 12% increase compared to 2007. No surprises concerning the country ranking: the United States (507 events) and Germany (402) have been heading the list for 4 years. Then come Spain and France which show a rise of respectively 40 and 75 events organised in 2008.

On the other hand, the city ranking marks some changes. Paris is in the lead, tied with Vienna (139 events). The French capital thus gains two places compared to last year and the two cities forestall their rivals Barcelona and Singapore. This pole position can be explained by the mobilization of Parisian business tourism industry, which multiplied its efforts to improve the overall welcome of international visitors to congresses over the past several years. It is also interesting to note the arrival of newcomers in the top 20 including Athens, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and Tokyo, as well as the strong positions of Asian cities such as Seoul and Singapore.

Are those tendencies going to remain in 2009 or will the downturn imply the arrival of new competitive destinations?

Table 1: ICCA country and city ranking measured by number of meetings organised in 2008

Slovenia is on 40th place, with 43 meetings, then it comes Croatia on the 41st place together with New Zealand with 38 meetings, and Romania is in the 48th place with 26 meetings.

ICCA Rankings for Belgrade

Belgrade Meetings                     7 (2007)                                 13 (2008)

Belgrade Ranking                     168th (2007)                              120th (2008)

Serbia Meetings                         11 (2007)                                20 (2008)

Serbia Ranking                         69th (2007)                               55th (2008)