Cvent Announces Top Meeting Destinations for 2024

Cvent announced today its lists of top meeting and event destinations based on $16 billion of group business sourced through the Cvent Supplier Network in 2023. The rankings, which are segmented by region for North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa, are based on a comprehensive evaluation of factors such as venue popularity, event capacity, and client feedback.

The lists track what destinations Cvent Supplier Network users consider for their meetings and events. With Cvent’s largest user base in the U.S., followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific, these lists offer a valuable global image of corporations’ global outlook on events.

Cvent shared that 67% of users on its supplier network were new in 2023, a startling example of the underlying personnel change that the industry has experienced since the Covid pandemic. Also, a good reminder that the pressure is on at all levels of the industry, particularly with shorter lead times still reported across all sectors.

There is no change at the top of each list. Orlando, London, Singapore and Dubai remain the leaders in each region. These global destinations offer the ability to host any meeting or event at multiple venues and over 100,000 hotel rooms. Further down the list are destinations on the rise and others that have taken a tumble.

Overall, the limited shifts in ranking suggest a stable market for meetings and events, arguably a positive sign for an industry in flux over the last few years.

Orlando’s Appeal in Unwavering

For the seventh year, Orlando, FL, clinched the top spot, followed by Las Vegas, NV, in second and Nashville in third. The top 10 followed is unchanged, but there are some significant shifts from the 2023 ranks (in brackets). Dallas, TX, is the top climber, going from seventh to fourth, and with a large pipeline of hotel openings, it may continue an upward trajectory. Las Vegas, NV, climbed from fourth to second, with a blockbuster year in terms of mediatic events and continued expansion of its three convention centers. Denver, CO, also improved two places, likely driven by the expansion of the Colorado Convention Center.

Nashville, TN, could not hold on to last year’s impressive second spot but remains in a very strong third position. San Diego, CA, also dropped two places from third to fifth place, and Austin, TX, dropped from eighth to tenth place. Further down the list, Washington, D.C. dropped from 11th to 18th, while Arlington, TX, is a new entry in 34th and Tempe, AZ, also joins the list in the 45th spot.

Top North American Meeting Destinations

1. Orlando, Florida (-)
2. Las Vegas, Nevada (+2)
3. Nashville, Tennessee (-1)
4. Dallas, Texas (+3)
5. San Diego, California (-2)
6. Chicago, Illinois (-1)
7. Atlanta, Georgia (-1)
8. Denver, Colorado (+2)
9. Phoenix, Arizona (-)
10. Austin, Texas (-2)

London Stays Ahead in Europe

According to Cvent’s rankings, London remains the leading city in Europe, with only one significant change from last year: Paris dropped four places from third to seventh. This drop could be explained by hosting the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, which may have driven business events away from the city this year. Berlin hopped over Lisbon, gaining two spots, leading two other German cities in the top 10. Just outside the top ten is Dublin, Ireland, which jumped seven places from 17th to 11th. Meanwhile, Budapest, Hungary, went from 25th to 19th.

Top European Meeting Destinations

1. London, UK (-)
2. Barcelona, Spain (-)
3. Madrid, Spain (+1)
4. Berlin, Germany (+2)
5. Lisbon, Portugal (0)
6. Amsterdam, the Netherlands (+1)
7. Paris, France (-4)
8. Rome, Italy (-)
9. Frankfurt, Germany (-)
10. Munich, Germany (-)

Singapore on Top Once More

Singapore leads in the Asia-Pacific region, with Bangkok, Thailand swapping places with Sydney, Australia, now second and third respectively. Tokyo, Japan and Shanghai, China, both jump two places to be fourth and tenth, while Seoul drops two places from fourth to sixth. 

Further down the list, Hong Kong is showing good signs of recovery going from 20th to 14th. India is on the rise, with its most popular destination on the platform Bengaluru, climbing two places from 15th to 13th, while Mumbai and New Dehli climbed five places and now rank 18th and 19th. On the flip side, Gold Coast, Australia, dropped six places from 9th to 15th, and Guangzhou, China, dropped from 13th to 20th.

Top Asia-Pacific Meeting Destinations

1. Singapore (-)
2. Bangkok, Thailand (+1)
3. Sydney, Australia (-1)
4. Tokyo, Japan (+2)
5. Melbourne, Australia (0)
6. Seoul, South Korea (-2)
7. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (+1)
8. Bali, Indonesia (-1)
9. Phuket, Thailand (+1)
10. Shanghai, China (+2)

Dubai Leads in the Middle East and Africa

There is little change at the top of the Middle East and Africa rankings, with Dubai and Istanbul being a solid first and second, and Abu Dhabi, UAE swapped places with Marrakech, Morocco, now third and fourth, respectively. A little further down, there are three significant rises: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, jumped into the top ten, from 12th last year to seventh this year; Doha, Qatar, went from 11th to eighth; and Casablanca, Morocco, went from 16th to tenth.

There are also big shifts outside the top ten. Nairobi, Kenya, just missed out on the top ten but jumped from 18th to 12th, and Rabat, Morocco, went from 23rd to 17th. New to the list are Accra, Ghana, at 16th and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, at 18th.

Top Meeting Destinations in the Middle East and Africa

1. Dubai, UAE (-)
2. Istanbul, Türkiye (-)
3. Abu Dhabi, UAE (+1)
4. Marrakech, Morocco (-1)
5. Cape Town, South Africa (-)
6. Cairo, Egypt (-)
7. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (+5)
8. Doha, Qatar (+3)
9. Johannesburg, South Africa (-)
10. Casablanca, Morocco (+6)

To rank meeting destinations, Cvent evaluated the 12,500+ destinations listed on the Cvent Supplier Network and tracked activity between January 2023 and December 2023. Rankings were based on the number of total room nights booked through the platform, the number of unique electronic request-for-proposals (RFPs) sent to venues within the destination, the total value of the RFPs submitted, and the actual awarded value for meetings booked.

Top Meeting Hotels

Cvent also revealed the top meeting hotels for each region. The properties were ranked according to various criteria, including total requests for proposals (RFPs), awarded RFPs, total room nights, awarded room nights, major metropolitan area market share, conversion rate, and response rate. 

Top Meeting Hotels in North America

1. Grand Hyatt Nashville
2. Omni Nashville Hotel
3. JW Marriott Austin
4. JW Marriott Nashville
5. Renaissance Nashville Hotel
6. Fairmont Austin
7. The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa
8. Fairmont Scottsdale Princess
9. Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport
10. Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk

Top Meeting Hotels in Europe

1. Melia Castilla (Madrid, Spain)
2. Hilton Prague (Prague, Czech Republic)
3. NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding (Madrid, Spain)
4. Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel & Conference Center (Madrid, Spain)
5. Lisbon Marriott Hotel (Lisbon, Portugal)
6. Hilton Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain)
7. InterContinental Athenaeum Athens (Athens, Greece)
8. Melia Avenida America (Madrid, Spain)
9. Corinthia Lisbon (Lisbon, Portugal)
10. AC Hotel Barcelona Forum (Barcelona, Spain)

Top Meeting Hotels in Asia-Pacific

1. JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach
2. Shangri-La Singapore
3. Hyatt Regency Sydney
4. Hilton Tokyo
5. Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park
6. Fairmont Singapore
7. voco Orchard Singapore
8. Hilton Kuala Lumpur
9. Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park
10. Hilton Singapore Orchard

Top Meeting Hotels in the Middle East and Africa

1. Conrad Dubai
2. InterContinental Dubai DFC – Congress Destination
3. Grosvenor House, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Dubai
4. Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor City
5. Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights
6. Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah, Dubai
7. JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai
8. The St. Regis Downtown Dubai
9. InterContinental Istanbul
10. Grand Hyatt Istanbul