BestCities Global Alliance congratulates Berlin on its ranking as world leader in this year’s annual statistics report from the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). With Singapore and Copenhagen also listed in the top 10 and ten of the Alliance partners placing in the top 60, BestCities has reaffirmed its position as the leading strategic global destination alliance.
This ICCA ranking is one of the most important indicators of success in the meetings industry, with a strong influence on the awarding of major congresses, positioning the alliance and its partners strongly for a successful year ahead.
Four of BestCities partners climbed places from 2014, including Berlin Convention Office (BCO), which was named number one meetings destination in 2015 for the first time.
With 195 events hosted last year, Berlin surpassed both Paris (186) and Barcelona (180), followed by Vienna, Madrid and London. Singapore, another of BestCities partners also topped the charts at number seven with the most events outside Europe (156), followed by Copenhagen who climbed three places to a top ten world ranking.
Cape Town held onto its spot as the number one destination in Africa, hosting 54 meetings in the past year, while Vancouver climbed nine places to a global ranking of 29.
Paul Vallee, managing director of BestCities, says: “These results demonstrate the impact that BestCities and our partners have on the global meetings industry. With 926 meetings hosted last year, our Alliance continues to grow and build loyalty with association clients around the world.
“As members of the Alliance, our partners work collaboratively to support each other, sharing knowledge at the bidding stage and helping each other broker strategic partnerships to boost delegates and create a lasting impact from each event and congress. With partners operating in mature and emerging markets, we are well-positioned to build on this success year on year, and through this network also assist our clients with creating a meaningful and lasting impact globally.”
Burkhard Kieker, visitBerlin CEO commented on BCB success: “This is a great confirmation of the work being done by the visitBerlin Berlin Convention Office and the entire meetings industry in our city. We also wish to thank our partners Messe Berlin and Estrel Berlin for their continued cooperation and our partners of BestCities Global Alliance, who have also been a support as we strive to deliver valuable and strategic guidance to associations operating in our city. In order to play at the top of the league, Berlin needs to begin planning the expansion of its capacities wisely, and we are confident the expertise and knowledge within BestCities Global Alliance will be a great support in that endeavour.”
BestCities newly appointed Board Chair, Jonas Wilstrup, Convention Director of Wonderful Copenhagen Convention Bureau said: “It’s fantastic to see BestCities’ partners performing and ranking so highly, and I have no doubt their partnership via the alliance has been a variable in making their goals a reality. We’d also like to extend our congratulations to our colleagues at Berlin Convention Bureau who consistently raise the bar, and this year have set the standard for CVBs to strive for over the next year.”