The city of Madrid climbs to third in the ranking of world congress cities, published by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) for 2018. This positioning is reinforced by the contribution of the Convenciones y Congresos de IFEMA (Convention and Congress activity of IFEMA), which last year hosted 8 major international congresses and exhibitions and more than 700 different types of events, meetings and ceremonies.
According to the ICCA, Madrid hosted 165 international congresses last year, 7.8% more than in 2017, which sees it climb from seventh to third place, behind Paris – with 212 – and Vienna – with 172 -; and surpassing major cities such as Barcelona, Berlin, London, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and Brussels. In this sense, the Spanish capital confirms its status as one of the most attractive cities in the world to host international events.
It should be noted that Spain also occupies the third position in this field, with 595 congresses in 2018, behind the United States and Germany, and ahead of France, the United Kingdom and Italy. The positioning of the two largest cities in the country in the “top 5” of this ranking, demonstrates Spain’s ability to host this type of event, thanks to the excellence of its infrastructures and the quality of the services provided to the attending professionals.
The trade fair and congress activity of IFEMA shows its firm commitment to the MICE sector, not only in regard to the organisation of events, but also in the hosting on its site at Feria de Madrid and IFEMA Palacio Municipal of hundreds of important international events each year, due to the trust placed in it by the world’s most important congress operators.
Examples of this are the Air Traffic Management Congress – WATM Congress, which brings together at each edition around 9,000 professionals from the sector; the pharmaceutical industry event – CPhI Worldwide; the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress – EADV Congress, with 10,000 attendees; and the European League Against Rheumatism Congress – EULAR Congress, which receives 15,000 attendees. In total, 3.5 million visitors attend the fairs, congresses and other events held at IFEMA every year, consolidating the position of Madrid as a leader in business tourism globally.
With all this data, IFEMA continues to work to meet its objectives, among which is the revitalisation of the economy of the city of Madrid and to project its image internationally. The ICCA ranking on the activity of 2018 accredits this positioning, which will continue to grow during the coming years, with the holding of these and other important events worldwide.
