Graham Pope, VP Sales Hospitality Cloud at Cvent, one of the leaders in technology dedicated to MICE, provided an overview of the top trends in international MICE on the first day of the event. From the Top 10 destinations to the Top 10 meeting hotels, the leading venues for hosting events, from the most imposing to the most confidential, were cited by the event organisers who responded to the Cvent survey.

To produce this ranking, more than 12,500 destinations were evaluated according to both qualitative and quantitative criteria, such as the number of overnight stays, the number of RFPs and the value of these RFPs. More than 300,000 hotels were also evaluated on similar criteria, supplemented by more specific criteria such as conversion rates on the Cvent platform, which has sourced more than 16 billion dollars worth of event business.

According to Graham Pope, “the top list has become a go-to resource for event planners who are looking for top destinations in top meeting hotels to host their events”.

A total of eight lists have been created, four bringing together the top destinations by region, and four for the top meeting hotels.

For the APAC region, Singapore came out on top, followed by Bangkok and Sydney. “These top ten cities remained mostly consistent year over year,” explains Graham Pope. The only newcomer is Shanghai, which breaks into the top ten. The hotels in these destinations are also in the top group, with the JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach maintaining its top position, boosted by “this hotel's proximity to the central business districts is cutting edge audio, visual facilities and flexible in space really did help you secure that top spot”. The Shangri-La Singapore and the Hyatt Regency Sydney follow in the top 3.

In Europe, London, Barcelona, and Madrid are the leading destinations for MICE, while the Meliá Castlla, the Hilton, Prague, and the NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding are vying for the top spots among meeting hotels. London remains at the top of the rankings, a position boosted by a particularly dynamic hotel industry, with numerous openings, including in the luxury segment, and the major renovation of ExCel London. As for the Meliá Castilla, which moved up three places in the rankings, it “has made significant improvements to his meetings and events offerings. It continues to prioritise 0 carbon footprint. And these enhancements really do reflect the planners' focus on technology and environmental sustainability when sourcing hotels for their events” says Graham Pope.

A CSR approach and technological efforts are among the criteria that are increasingly appealing to MICE guests looking for events that are more responsible, more fluid and more flexible.

Below are the eight lists compiled by Cvent:

1. Singapore

2. Bangkok, Thailand

3. Sydney, Australia

4. Tokyo, Japan

5. Melbourne, Australia

6. Seoul, South Korea

7. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

8. Bali, Indonesia

9. Phuket, Thailand

10. Shanghai, China

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

1. London, United Kingdom

2. Barcelona, Spain

3. Madrid, Spain

4. Berlin, Germany

5. Lisbon, Portugal

6. Amsterdam, Netherlands

7. Paris, France

8. Rome, Italy

9. Frankfurt, Germany

10. Munich, Germany

1. Meliá Castilla

2. Hilton, Prague

3. NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding

4. Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel

5. Lisbon Marriott Hotel

6. Hilton Barcelona

7. Intercontinental Athenaeum Athens

8. Meliá Avenida America

9. Corinthia Lisbon

10. AC Hotel Barcelona Forum

1. Orlando, Florida

2. Las Vegas, Nevada

3. Nashville, Tennessee

4. Dallas, Texas

5. San Diego, California

6. Chicago, Illinois

7. Atlanta, Georgia

8. Denver, Colorado

9. Phoenix, Arizona

10. Austin, Texas

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

1. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2. Istanbul, Turkey

3. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

4. Marrakech, Morocco

5. Cape Town, South Africa

6. Cairo, Egypt

7. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

8. Doha, Qatar

9. Johannesburg, South Africa

10. Casablanca, Morocco

1. Conrad Dubai

2. Intercontinental Dubai Dfc - Congress Destination

3. Grosvenor House, 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