The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) has released its annual ICCA GlobeWatch: Business Analytics – Country & City Rankings 2025, revealing the world’s leading destinations for international association meetings. The report, presented during IMEX Frankfurt 2026, analysed more than 12, 438 international association meetings across 162 countries and territories, and 1, 603 cities worldwide.

The United States retained its position as the world’s top country for international meetings, followed by Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Within the Asia-Pacific region, Japan climbed two places to sixth position globally, while China completed the top 10 rankings. South Korea also secured a place among the top 20 destinations worldwide.

At city level, Lisbon emerged as the leading destination for international association meetings in 2025, followed by Paris and Barcelona. Other cities in the global top 10 included Vienna, Singapore, Prague, Copenhagen, London, Seoul, and Tokyo. Bangkok and Hong Kong also ranked strongly within the top 20, further highlighting Asia-Pacific’s growing influence in the global Business Events sector.

Europe continued to dominate the meetings landscape, accounting for 53 per cent of all meetings analysed, followed by Asia-Pacific at 22 per cent and North America at 10 per cent. Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East also demonstrated steady growth in their market share.

The report highlighted medical sciences, technology, and science as the leading sectors driving international association meetings worldwide. Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong all appeared among the top-performing cities across specific industry sectors.

ICCA’s research also showed strong recovery in large-scale meetings, with events hosting more than 1,000 participants returning to — and in some cases exceeding — 2019 levels. Mega conventions with over 3,000 delegates proved especially resilient and continue to generate substantial economic benefits for host destinations.

The 2025 report additionally introduced venue type analysis, revealing that convention and exhibition centres remain central to global event infrastructure, while universities, hotels, and alternative venues continue gaining popularity among organisers and attendees alike.

Source : M&C Asia