ICCA Ranking 2022: Italy is in the Top Three
Italy jumps ahead and reaches third place in the world for hosted congresses Florence May 23rd: Italy is in the top three in the 2022 ICCA rankings. For the first time since 2019, the International Congress and Convention Association - ICCA has now published in full its yearly statistical report tracking the performance of countries and cities in the association-led congress market.
This figure, emerging from ICCA’s annual rankings, which has always been highly indicative of how the MICE sector is performing internationally, bodes well for our country.
Overall, Europe’s performance in terms of international, association-led meetings is excellent: in ICCA Top 20 Destination Performance 70% of countries and 80% of cities are European, followed by Asian and North American countries, while Oceania, represented by Australia, ranks #24.
By comparing the 2022 data with the 2019 data, it is evident how Italy, more than other destinations, has managed to cope with the pandemic-related crisis efficiently and proactively, growing more than any other nation did, even more than the USA, the global leaders of the MICE sector.
This incredible result demonstrates how active the Italian MICE industry is, and it is a testament to the great work that MICE operators put in to ensure the best possible restart, something to be proud of.
If, on the one hand, we can see an overall maturation of the Italian Meeting Industry, thanks to increasingly well-performing local convention bureaux, on the other hand it is important to also acknowledge the role Convention Bureau Italia’s Italian Knowledge Leaders. This project, that started off before the pandemic as Lead Generation, has further developed, providing to destinations increasingly sophisticated tools to attract international congresses, as well as further assistance, collaborations, and synergies all across the Italian peninsula.
Italian cities’ performances are notable as well, as they all invariably grew since 2019. Rome is now 14th (18th in 2019), Milan is 18th (while it was 32nd in 2019), Bologna is 35th compared to its 2019’s 110th spot, and Florence is now 60th, while it was only 88th in 2019. These numbers show the importance of Italy for the global MICE industry, as well as the attractiveness of our nation, appreciated not only for its historical, cultural, and natural beauty, but also for its many high-quality facilities that can host efficiently, productively, and elegantly, huge numbers of high-profile congress guests.
It is with our great pride and joy that Italy once again is recognized internationally as an ideal destination to satisfy every kind of need related to the MICE world, and that is always ready to improve, grow, and fact future challenges in an ever evolving sector.