Find out who's leading the way in UIA’s Meetings Statistics 2015

For the past six decades, the Union of International Associations (UIA) has undertaken statistical studies on the preceding year’s international meetings. The statistics are based on information systematically collected by the UIACongress Department and selected according to strict criteria maintained over the years. At the time of producing these stats (May 2016) there were 458,453 meetings in the UIA meetings database of which 412,403 (90%) meet the criteria for inclusion.

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Meetings taken into consideration include those organised and/or sponsored by the international organisations which appear in the Yearbook of International Organisations and in the International Congress Calendar. For the UIA, meetings are divided into 3 categories: meetings of international organisations, 3-day other international meetings and 2-day other international meetings.

What counts

Meetings of international organisations are organised or sponsored by ‘international organisations’, i.e. international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) and intergovernmental organisations (IGOs) that are included in the UIA’sYearbook of International Organisations, with at least 50 participants.

Three-day other international meetings are not organised or sponsored by ‘international organisations’ but nonetheless of significant international character, with at least 40% of participants who are from countries other than the host country, with at least 5 different nationalities, lasting at least 3 days, with either a concurrent exhibition or at least 300 participants. Two-day other international meetings have to be attended by at least 40% of participants who are from countries other than the host country, with at least 5 different nationalities, lasting at least 2 days, with either a concurrent exhibition or at least 250 participants.

Changes & Co

If no major changes seem to have taken place in 2015, there seems to be something happening in Korea Republic, with a steady growth of meetings both in the country in general and in Seoul in particular. Singapore, with almost 120 fewer meetings than last year, has now dropped from the Top 3, leaving USA, Korea (for the first time second!) and Belgium in it. Austria either doesn’t fare as well as last year and is now tenth. As to France, it is retaining its ranking as 6^th. A noticeable climber is Italy, making the Top 10 for the first time.

Top international meeting countries in 2015

As for cities, Brussels is still strongly standing on the 2^nd position (and first in Europe!) but with about 120 fewer meetings than last year. Paris has retained its fourth place, while Seoul climbed up two places compared to 2015. Tokyo stands firmly on its grounds, at the 6^th position, while Vienna has dropped two places, even though still in the Top 5. Berlin is now in the Top 10, with a strong 8^th position, three places better than last year

But, just like last year, what the UIA statistics reveal is the strength of secondary cities. Take Japan for instance: 634 meetings were held in the country in 2015, but only 249 in the capital city Tokyo. That means an outstanding 385 events took place in other Japanese destinations. The same goes for France and Paris, Germany and Berlin: it’s not only the capital cities that helped secure a great number of events and a good position in the rankings…

Top International Meeting Cities in 2015

Last but not least is one striking highlight: the fact that, in a lot of cases, fewer meetings altogether seem to have taken place in 2015. If you look at the USA, Singapore or Belgium, this is intriguing actually. USA welcomed almost 100 fewer meetings than last year, the same for Singapore and a bit more for Belgium. It might be a good time for politicians and suppliers to appreciate the kind of legacy business events leave in a given destination. More on this very soon in Headquarters only!

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