A new index which ranks cities in terms of their competitive strength for attracting international conventions was launched at the 57th ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) Congress 2018.
The index scores cities based on their strengths in relation to eleven key drivers that GainingEdge says influence association decision-making during destination selection processes. The first three are the “hygiene factors” (the essentials), including convention centre capacity, hotel capacity and air access. These account for 45 percent of the weighting on scores. The next three are “competitive advantage” factors, including the size of the destination’s association community, and the destination’s cost and appeal in both a business and tourism sense. These account for 30 percent of the weighting. The final 25 percent of the possible points relate to what GainingEdge calls “key differentiators”, which include logistics, market size, economy, business environment and safety / stability.
International Convention Destination Competitive Index (full index)
International Convention Destination Competitive Index (GainingEdge press release)
Paris “Most Competitive City” in Attracting International Meetings (Association Meetings International article)
