Japan, South Korea, and Australia have taken the top three spots for the number of meetings per country/territory in Asia-Pacific, according to the ICCA Rankings Report for 2023.
Japan handled 363 meetings in 2023, followed by South Korea at 252, and Australia at 219. Rounding off the top 10 Asia-Pacific list, in order from fourth to 10th, are China, Singapore, Thailand, India, Taipei, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
This year’s report stands out for the increased continental diversity in the Top 20 country rank as, besides European, Asian and North American countries, Latin America and Oceania were also represented compared to 2022. The US topped the global list with 690 meetings, while Italy and Spain were in second and third place with 553 and 505 meetings respectively.
Additionally, the findings included the addition of an Asian destination into the year’s top 10 spots (Japan), demonstrating the region’s positive development in adapting to such a competitive environment.
Overall, Europe led in the number of meetings hosted at 5,735, followed by Asia at 2,041 and North America at 1,873. Africa and the Middle East showed growth post-pandemic compared to 2019 levels, while other regions experienced declines.
Europe also consistently accounting for a significant portion of total participants, with Asia and North America showing resilient participation rates.
Meanwhile, secondary cities such as Daegu in South Korea, and Chiang Mai in Thailand, have also emerged as attractive meeting destinations, while established top cities continued to perform strongly.
Other key global findings revealed that meetings with 50 to 149 participants were the most common, as the pandemic has led to a shift towards smaller, more focused events.
Medical Sciences, Technology, and Science were the top contributors to the thematic landscape, accounting for over 22 per cent of all meetings combined. Fields such as Agriculture and Library & Information led in recovery rates post-pandemic, while STEM fields and Humanities and Social Sciences showed moderate recovery rates.
The average registration fee per delegate and total expenditures per delegate increased modestly from 2014 to 2023, with a sharp increase in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The full report can be found on ICCA’s website.
