Founded in 1963, the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) is the world´s most representative organization of the convention industry, with over 850 members, including government organizations, convention and exhibition-related companies, and convention and exhibition centres from more than 80 countries worldwide. Every year, ICCA publishes a report ranking the countries/cities all over the world in terms of the number of conferences hosted by the international association. It is presently one of the most authoritative and credible indicators of the world´s convention industry, and it is also used by professional meeting planners as an important reference material to select the ideal venues and destinations for holding events. ICCA applies a rigorous set of standards for evaluation, and only those conventions that are regularly organized by international associations, rotating in three or more countries and with at least 50 participants are included in the selection. According to the latest ICCA Market Report 2014, with regards to Macao, 23 international conferences were recognized by ICCA, an increase of 8 events over the previous year´s 16. Per Asia-Pacific ranking, Macao was positioned 34th in 2013 and 20th in 2014, up 14 places from the previous year. Likewise, in terms of global city ranking, Macao was positioned 101st in 2014, up 55 and 163 positions from 2013 (156th) and 2012 (263rd) respectively, a significant upward trend for two consecutive years. This reflects that Macao is gradually attracting the interest of both conference planners and participants. Subsequent to the gradual completion of large-scale convention and exhibition facilities, Macao´s convention and exhibition industry is experiencing a rapid development and is attracting more and more large global conferences which choose the city as venue for their meetings. Please read attachment!
