The best cities for international events

A recent data study explores which are the best cities for international events by looking at travel with the best airport connectivity as well as best accommodation and other factors that are necessary.

Two European cities top the list with Paris on the first place and Frankfurt taking the second spot. Shanghai, Dubai and Las Vegas also made it to the top five on the list that ranks cities worldwide according to the best infrastructure and ability to run successful trade fairs.

Holidu, the holiday rental portal,  The index analyses and compares the top 50 global cities from multiple perspectives; capacity for large industry events and fairs, accommodation, international connectivity and visitor experience.

What’s behind the study of the best cities for international events

At Holidu, we are constantly studying travel trends and what motivates our customers so we can meet their wants and needs. Every year the event industry accounts for more than 28% of travel economic output worldwide.  We decided to undertake this study to measure using available data the strength of the cities with the highest capacity and ability to run all types of events. The result of our research is the first ranking of cities with the best ability to host events.

To begin, out of 1000 cities we selected a shortlist of prominent, international cities based on their reputation and historic prominence for hosting  tier one events like world fairs, sporting events  and trade conferences as well as those who have the venues and accommodation infrastructure for the safe catering of large numbers of visitors.

Next, we considered the principles and history of events hosted in each city. Specifically, we studied accommodation, transportation connectivity and most importantly all the relevant events hosted in the past by the city.

Finally, we studied safety as well as the quality of the cities when it comes to tending to visitors, from the hotels to its restaurants to understand not only the availability of them but how they care for their visitors’ experience.

The final result is an index composed of all past events and relevant factors ranking cities worldwide based on their suitability and attractiveness for successful events.

Events industry is proven to be resilient

The event industry was heavily disrupted by the COVID pandemic, yet it has shown resilience as events are showing attendance above pre-pandemic worldwide, said Sarah Siddle, PR Manager Holidu. Events are a way industries and topics gather strength and cities cement a position among them, added Mrs. Siddle.

View the complete methodology and Index here