Record number of participants in association events in 2019

On May 12 this year, the International Association of Conferences and Congresses (International Congress and Convention Association – ICCA) published a ranking ICCA Statistics Report 2019, in which Warsaw was ranked 1st in Poland, 20th in Europe and 34th in the world. 71 events reported by the Warsaw Convention Bureau gathered 22,742 participants in 2019, which is a record result in the history of Warsaw's listings in this ranking. In the international ranking of countries, Poland maintained 19th position in the world and 12th in Europe with a total of 213 meetings meeting the ICCA criteria.

Annual statistics  ICCA  for countries and cities are one of the key and most anticipated reports in the global meetings industry. This data illustrates the attractiveness of cities and regions in the association events market. However, it should be remembered that they should be analyzed in a broader context and in relation to global and regional trends.

What criteria does ICCA use?

ICCA prepares its ranking based on data on association meetings collected from convention bureaux, conference facilities, hotels and the associations themselves. Analyzed meetings must meet three conditions: they must be held cyclically, have at least 50 participants and migrate between at least three countries. This means that conferences that have already been held in Warsaw will not be acquired again soon, and the pool of associations that decide to go to Warsaw changes every year.

The statistics show a certain current state, but it is the result of sales activities that took place 3-4 years ago, because that is usually the time between the announcement of the competition for the event destination and the implementation of the congress. The results of these competitions are usually a consequence of the internal policy of the associations and the activities of local ambassadors supported by the convention bureaux.

What's going on in the CEE region?

When we compare the results of the capitals in the CEE region (Warsaw, Budapest, Prague, Vienna and Berlin), it turns out that since 2017 all the key congress destinations for this part of Europe have been recording a clear decrease in the number of registered events. This may mean that interest in the CEE region on the association market has decreased in recent years.

How did Warsaw fare compared to other Polish cities?

Warsaw has been the undisputed leader in terms of the number of association events in Poland for years. Also in 2019, the capital took 1st place in the national ranking (71 meetings). Kraków came 2nd (54 meetings). The next positions were 3rd Poznań (21 meetings) and 4th Gdańsk (19 meetings).

How should we interpret Warsaw's result in this year's ICCA report?

Comparing the statistics from 2019 and 2018, it is indeed clear that Warsaw documented fewer events last year and dropped 5 positions in the ranking. This is consistent with the general downward trend that has affected the countries of Central and Central Eastern Europe, including Berlin, which, despite the drop in the number of events, ranked 3rd in the world.

It is difficult to indicate objective factors that determined Warsaw's decline in the ranking ICCA, but it can be assumed that its causes could be the geopolitical situation, less interest in the CEE region among international associations and insufficient infrastructure for organizing large congresses.

The ranking results should certainly not be interpreted solely through the prism of the number of meetings organized. Thanks to tools such as ICCA Destination Comparison Tool We can compare cities, countries or regions also by referring to the following criteria: number of participants, duration of the event, type of facility or congress theme.

It turns out that Warsaw has recorded a success that could have escaped the attention of recipients without a thorough analysis of the published data. Namely, in 2019, the total number of participants in association events for Warsaw was the highest in the history of this ranking. 71 meetings reported to ICCA gathered a total of 22,742 people. This is mainly due to the organization of large events such as: European Congress of Psychiatry -EPA- (4,300 participants), European Congress on Clinical Neurophysiology -ECCN- (845 participants) or European Design Conference -ED- (459 participants), which were acquired thanks to the efforts of the Warsaw Convention Bureau.

The publication of the ICCA report is a certain indicator of the effectiveness of sales activities for each congress destination. The place in the ranking reflects the position relative to the competition and motivates further actions to advance in the ranking next year. However, we are dealing with an unprecedented situation. The current year will not bring any surprising decisions in the next ICCA ranking - no advances or declines. The situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has completely paralyzed the meetings industry, including the association market. Most events planned for 2020 are canceled or postponed, which in turn delays efforts to organize the next editions of these meetings.

Regardless of whether next year's report is published or not, one thing is certain - all destinations will find themselves in the same situation. Cities and regions will try to make up for the lost year and compete again for the next events. The rules will be the same for everyone - to convince that they have coped with the epidemic and are ready to safely welcome congress participants.