While Cannes is doing its film thing, Frankfurt is putting MICE in the spotlight. Awards are indeed piling up at the IMEX trade fair in Frankfurt. In parallel with the ICCA revealing its ranking Europe's largest convention citiesCvent unveiled its list of the top meeting destinations and hotels worldwide for 2026.
As every year, this key supplier of hotel and MICE technology relies on data from its event sourcing ecosystem – representing over $20 billion in global platform activity last year – to deliver these regional rankings.
London, Orlando, Dubai, Singapore, Cancun/Riviera Maya: the top spots hold few surprises. Orlando retains its position in North America for the eleventh consecutive year, and Cancun has confirmed its leading place in Latin America. Similarly, the European top 3 – London, Barcelona, and Madrid – is identical to last year, with the British capital dominating this ranking for the fourth time in a row. In the Middle East/Africa region, Dubai, Istanbul, and Abu Dhabi have been firmly anchored in their places for several years.
Among its rising destinations, Cvent hails the resurgence of New York in North America, climbing four places to break into the Top 10, alongside the dynamic growth of event hubs such as Austin and Nashville. The latter is on the podium, behind Orlando and Las Vegas, but now surpasses the appeal of Chicago.
Like the ICCA rankings, dominated by Lisbon, Cvent welcomes the Portuguese capital's establishment as one of the great MICE destinations. By gaining four places, Lisbon has risen to 4e position, ahead of Paris, which also moves up one rank. Other cities to have made breakthroughs of several ranks, Munich and Vienna, bear witness to their growing attractiveness for association congresses and corporate events.
In the Middle East/Africa region, behind an unchanged podium, Marrakech, Riyadh and Doha all move up one place to be ranked 4e, 5e and 6e places respectively. Other progressions, those of Cairo, which jumps five places to 8e position, and Casablanca, which enters the Top 10 for the first time. In Latin America & the Caribbean, behind Cancún/Riviera Maya and San Juan, Puerto Rico, the capital of the Bahamas, Nassau, sees its attractiveness rewarded to climb three places and reach the podium. Similarly, in Asia, behind a top 5 identical to last year, Seoul has overtaken Bali to take 7the place.
Regarding hotel rankings, the American provider highlights several hotels from North American groups, notably the JW Marriott Austin, which has climbed four places to seize the top position in North America and underscores Austin's rise as an MICE destination. Still from Marriott, another JW, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, has retained first place in its region, resisting advances from Conrad Dubai and Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights. One hotel that intends to stay at the top, as the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai has embarked on a vast renovation programme of its 1,600 rooms, its two VIP lounges, and its restaurants. And this without closure, one tower after another, its spa and meeting spaces remaining accessible.
Hilton also places two of its hotels in the top spot, the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique in Latin America and the Hilton Singapore Orchard which reaches this position for the first time in Asia. It is only in Europe that an establishment from a non-American group is rewarded, the Meliá Avenida América in Madrid, ahead of the Hilton London Metropole and the W Barcelona, from the Marriott group.
