Meetings, events and hospitality platform Cvent evaluated the more than 11,000 cities represented on the company's venue sourcing site to compile its eighth annual list of the meetings and events destinations with the most 2018 booking activity. It ranked each destination according to unique RFPs received, total room nights in those RFPs, awarded RFPs, awarded room nights, the market's percentage of qualified meeting venues and number of profile views.
For the U.S., the top three remained unchanged from 2018, with Orlando in the lead. Miami replaced San Francisco among the top 10, which dropped off the list from 2017. London led Europe, whose top 10 lost Lisbon but gained Prague. Due to increased volume to the Asia/Pacific region, Cvent split that list into two this year: Asia and then Australia and Oceania.
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"Business events add $1.5 trillion to the global GDP, and because of this positive economic impact, the cities featured in this year's Top Meeting Destinations lists have put significant time and resources into attracting more group business to their locales," said Cvent Hospitality Cloud VP of marketing Chris McAndrews. "Leading destinations are working closely with hotels and venues in their area to offer and promote unique experiences, helping event organizers deliver more memorable and impactful events."
