Why do some destinations remain competitive for many consecutive years despite profound changes in the international congress market?

Every destination wants to attract more congresses.

Every year, destinations invest significant resources in marketing, international promotion, trade shows, destination branding, congress facilities and increasingly sophisticated services.

Yet, despite comparable levels of commitment and investment, only a relatively small number of countries and destinations continue to occupy the leading positions in the international congress market over many consecutive years.

Why?

The most immediate answer would seem to lie in the annual rankings.

Who moved up?

Who moved down?

Who entered the Top 10?

But is this really the right way to interpret the market?

A historical analysis of the UIA International Meetings Statistics Reports suggests a very different perspective.

The most interesting observation is not which country ranks first in a particular year.

It is the remarkable continuity with which a relatively small group of European countries — including Belgium, Austria, France and Spain — continues to occupy the highest positions in the global rankings despite the profound changes that have transformed the international meetings industry over recent decades.

Naturally, these results must be interpreted with care.

Some destinations benefit from unique structural advantages. Brussels, for example, is not only the seat of the European institutions but also hosts an exceptionally large number of international associations. This undoubtedly contributes to its remarkable long-term performance.

Rather than weakening the analysis, however, this reinforces an important point.

It reminds us that long-term competitiveness cannot be explained by rankings alone.

It requires understanding the conditions that generate and sustain it.

Historical series also reveal another important aspect of the market.

Countries certainly compete internationally through their reputation, strategic positioning and national policies. Ultimately, however, congresses are hosted by destinations, and it is the combined performance of individual cities that determines a country’s overall position.

From this perspective, different competitive models clearly emerge.

Some countries follow a monocentric model, where national performance depends largely on one dominant destination, such as Belgium with Brussels or Austria with Vienna.

Others follow a polycentric model, where competitiveness is distributed across several internationally recognised destinations, as in the case of France or Spain.

Different models.

Different dynamics.

Most likely, different strategies.

Another observation emerges from the historical series.

Annual fluctuations should not all be interpreted in the same way.

Within the Top 10, movements of a few positions often represent normal competitive variation.

Further down the rankings, however, destinations may move across much wider ranges without necessarily changing their overall competitive standing.

For this reason, long-term analysis should focus less on the exact annual position and more on a destination’s ability to remain consistently within the same broad competitive band over time.

This is perhaps the most valuable lesson offered by the historical rankings.

An outstanding result in a single year may be influenced by exceptional circumstances.

Remaining consistently competitive over many consecutive years is something fundamentally different.

It is difficult to believe that such continuity can be explained simply by an effective marketing campaign, a new convention centre or a successful promotional strategy.

The historical evidence instead suggests the existence of competitive systems capable of generating opportunities over time.

Systems in which the destination is only one component of a much broader ecosystem that includes scientific leadership, institutional support, governance, professional relationships and the ability of multiple stakeholders to work together towards common objectives.

But perhaps the most important observation lies elsewhere.

The most important congress decisions are rarely made when a congress is officially announced.

Nor do they begin when a destination prepares a bid.

Every congress begins much earlier.

Before a destination is even considered.

Before a bid is prepared.

Before a venue is selected.

Within scientific communities, professional associations and professional networks, new priorities emerge, collaborations develop, relationships mature and future congresses gradually begin to take shape.

Understanding this process fundamentally changes the way destinations should think about competitiveness.

It shifts the focus from competing for announced congresses to understanding how congress opportunities are actually created.

For destinations, convention bureaux, venues and every organisation operating in the association meetings market, this is no longer simply an academic reflection.

It is rapidly becoming a strategic necessity.

It is precisely from this need that the Congress Intelligence Unit has launched its series of Intelligence Papers.

Their purpose is not to comment on annual rankings, but to provide deeper analysis of the structural dynamics shaping long-term destination competitiveness and to offer new analytical perspectives on an industry undergoing profound transformation.

The first Intelligence Paper, Beyond the Rankings, uses the historical evolution of the UIA International Meetings Statistics Reports as its starting point, but moves beyond the rankings themselves to explore the broader mechanisms that shape long-term congress competitiveness.

Because knowing who is competitive is important.

Understanding why, how, and under which conditions competitiveness is created and sustained over time is what will ultimately make the difference.

Further Reading

Beyond the Rankings

What the UIA International Meetings Statistics Report 2025 Reveals About the New Competitive Landscape of the European Congress Market.

→ Explore the Intelligence Paper