According to meeting and event booking activity through the Cvent Supplier Network, the company announced its first annual list of the Top 25 Meetings Destination cities in Europe today. Featuring more than 234,000 hotels, resorts and special event venues, the Cvent Supplier Network is one of the world's largest and most accurate databases of detailed venue information. Cvent sourced more than $8 billion in meetings and events through its marketplace in 2014.
Competition between cities to attract meetings and events is incredibly fierce in Europe and London, Barcelona and Paris hold the top three spots on Cvent’s list.
Cvent’s analysis of sourcing activity identified significant competition between European countries, and increasingly within countries where smaller markets are investing to lure events away from major cities.
The top 25 European cities for 2015 are:
| 1 | London, England | 14 | Munich, Germany | |
| 2 | Barcelona, Spain | 15 | Copenhagen, Denmark | |
| 3 | Paris, France | 16 | Lisbon, Portugal | |
| 4 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 17 | Manchester, England | |
| 5 | Berlin, Germany | 18 | Stockholm, Sweden | |
| 6 | Frankfurt, Germany | 19 | Athens, Greece | |
| 7 | Madrid, Spain | 20 | Budapest, Hungary | |
| 8 | Rome, Italy | 21 | Milan, Italy | |
| 9 | Brussels, Belgium | 22 | Hannover, Germany | |
| 10 | Dublin, Ireland | 23 | Birmingham, England | |
| 11 | Prague, Czech Republic | 24 | Zurich, Switzerland | |
| 12 | Istanbul, Turkey | 25 | Edinburgh, Scotland | |
| 13 | Vienna, Austria |
“Destinations and venues are working in tandem to be more attractive to event organizers to retain and grow group business which is an important economic driver, and for venues often generates more profitable revenue,” said David Chalmers, European marketing director at Cvent. “The strength of cities like Istanbul on the periphery of the EU and Athens in economically-challenged Greece highlight the rivalry between countries. Manchester and Birmingham are excellent examples of up-and-coming cities challenging their major domestic market.”
Cvent evaluated more than 2,500 cities in Europe featured on theCvent Supplier Networkto compile the first annual list. Activity was tracked from July 2014 to June 2015 and the ranking was then determined by a set of qualifying criteria consisting of:
- Unique Request for Proposals Received
- Total Room Nights Requested in RFPs
- Awarded Request for Proposals
- Awarded Room Nights
- Percentage of Qualified Meeting Venues
- Number of Profile Views
