Of the international congresses hosted in Vienna during the year, 306 met the criteria for inclusion in the UIA ranking. This was enough to merit fifth spot for Vienna in a list led by Singapore (1,116), with Brussels (961), Seoul (579) and Paris (375) completing the top four. After Vienna, the rest of the top ten was made up of Bangkok (290), Tokyo (288), London (207), Madrid (200) and Lisbon (199).

“For many years, Vienna has been one of the world’s most popular meeting destinations – congresses hosted by associations are the key factor as far as number of participants and value added are concerned. Vienna’s established position at the international vanguard is an achievement made possible by the meetings industry as a whole. I would like to thank the Vienna meetings industry – congress centers, venues, hotels and agencies – as well as our customers for choosing Vienna. Working together as partners, we will overcome the enormous challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting industry has come to a standstill all over the world, but the importance of research and scientific exchange is growing, especially during the crisis. At present, there is a lack of planning security for congresses, as it is all but impossible to predict how the pandemic will play out. However, we remain in close contact with our key accounts so that we can respond to changes as they occur and we are continuing to work on acquiring events for the years ahead. And we are preparing a major communication campaign for the autumn,” explained Christian Woronka, head of the Vienna Convention Bureau (VCB) and Market Management at the Vienna Tourist Board.

Broken down by country, Austria ranked 10th overall, with 386 events. Top spot was taken by Singapore (1,116), followed by Belgium (1,090) and South Korea (1,018) Vienna accounted for around 79% of the Austrian total in 2019.