Cvent list of the top 25 cities for meetings and events in Europe

Cvent, Inc. announced its inaugural list of the top 25 cities for meetings and events in Europe according to meeting and event booking activity through the Cvent Supplier Network. [pullquote]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.[/pullquote]
Competition between cities to attract meetings and events is incredibly fierce in Europe. 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
2. Barcelona, Spain
3. Paris, France
4. Amsterdam, Netherlands
5. Berlin, Germany
6. Frankfurt, Germany
7. Madrid, Spain
8. Rome, Italy
9. Brussels, Belgium
10. Dublin, Ireland
11. Prague, Czech Republic
12. Istanbul, Turkey
13. Vienna, Austria
14. Munich, Germany
15. Copenhagen, Denmark
16. Lisbon, Portugal
17. Manchester, England
18. Stockholm, Sweden
19. Athens, Greece
20. Budapest, Hungary
21. Milan, Italy
22. Hannover, Germany
23. Birmingham, England
24. Zurich, Switzerland
25. Edinburgh, Scotland

“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 often generates more profitable revenue for venues,” 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 the Cvent Supplier Network to 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

Commenting on the announcement, Tracy Halliwell MBE, director of Business Tourism & Major Events at London & Partners, the official Convention Bureau for the city said: “We are delighted that London has been named the number one meeting destination in Europe by Cvent. This has been a great year for the city with amazing events including the European Society of Cardiology’s congress held at London’s ExCeL, Advertising Week Europe returning to the capital for the second year running, and another hugely successful London Technology Week. The meetings and events industry is constantly evolving and we are thrilled to see that our strategy to keep London at the forefront of innovation is delivering significant returns for the city.”

“While many big name cities like London and Barcelona often make event organizers’ initial lists, they are more likely to share the lists with a broader set of international choices and smaller domestic cities,” said Stephen Morton-Prior, Director, Clearwater Events. “Event organizers have become more sophisticated in how they source events, both in their practices and the technology that is used, to identify destinations and venues that deliver an excellent attendee experience at an attractive price.”

The Cvent Supplier Network contains listings of hotels and other venues in more than 175 countries that can be searched and filtered based on approximately 200 meetings and events attributes. The Cvent Supplier Network is part of the Cvent Hospitality Cloud, which provides hotels, CVBs and other event venue owners a combination of event management software and marketing solutions to more effectively generate qualified demand for meetings and events, manage that demand more efficiently, and measure group business performance.