AROUND the world, the meetings and events sector has been growing steadily for decades, with the number of international association meetings doubling every decade since 1963, and the USA has been a key destination.
2018 was a record year for the industry, with more than 12,951 events being hosted around the world, 379 more than in 2017, marking a 55th successive year of growth, the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) reports.
With a broad range of locations to choose from, the US has been the number one country to host international events, with 947 meetings and conferences held across the country — over than 300 more than number two ranked nation, Germany, the 2018 ICCA Statistics Report, published in June, revealed.
The United States’ accessibility from almost anywhere in the world is a major draw for conference organisers, while the diverse range of cities with capacity to host events is also attractive.
The ICCA Statistics Report showed New York hosted more events (49) than any other US city did in 2018, however, Las Vegas hosted the most conference attendees (36,022) across 16 events.
