Vancouver Named Top North American City for International Meetings

Vancouver is one of North America’s most sought-after destinations for international meetings, according to two prominent reports recently released to the public. In the span of a week, the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) ranked Vancouver the top city in North America for international meetings, and Watkins Research Group’s prestigious Meeting and Convention Planners Survey rated the Vancouver Convention Centre the number-one venue in North America for Superior Convention Facilities.

Amsterdam-based ICCA releases an annual report ranking cities according to the number of international meetings hosted in the previous year. Thanks to factors like state-of-the-art convention facilities and strategic destination marketing, Vancouver hosted 78 international meetings in 2016 – more than any other city in North America. The city placed 29th in the world, ahead of other renowned meetings destinations like Montreal and Toronto. ICCA’s report is distributed to more than 6,000 meeting planners and suppliers worldwide, assisting them in identifying potential destinations for future events. Vancouver was previously awarded the ICCA ranking in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2015.

Watkins Research Group’s Meeting and Convention Planners Survey is considered the most comprehensive and authoritative survey of the convention and meetings industry, and its annual rankings are based on a global evaluation of meeting and convention organizers. Out of the 40 North American cities surveyed this year, Vancouver placed first in Canada and second in the continent.