According to the latest report of the International Congress and Incentives Association (ICCA), relative to 2021 and released yesterday, Portugal occupies the 6th position in the European ranking of countries that most receive and organize congresses and conventions (it was 7th in 2019). And, in the world ranking, it rises to 7th position, after being in 10th place in 2019.
Lisbon remains in the European and world 'top ten', maintaining 2nd place in both the European and world rankings. Porto follows this consolidation of the country and rises in both rankings, occupying 14th position in the European ranking and 16th in the world table.
Since the years 2020 and 2021 were atypical for all segments of the tourism sector, and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions) was no exception, ICCA developed the Destination Performance Index (DPI) in order to recognize and reward the efforts of destinations with regard to winning the original bid, COVID policies, adaptability and technological capabilities to convert on-site events into virtual/hybrid events, thus maintaining business continuity. The IPR thus consists of specific performance indicators, which allow the measurement of the destinations' results.
In order to project the country's image and create attractiveness throughout the year and throughout the territory, attracting international congresses and events has been a strategic priority.
In total, since 2016, the Capturing Corporate Events and International Congresses Program has captured 347 new congresses for Portugal. In 2020 and 2021, despite the context experienced, this program has captured 30 international events and congresses.
Having as a framework the recent model of support to the attraction of Associative/Corporate events under the Portugal Events Program, 73 international/national congresses have already been captured throughout the country.