The industry-acclaimed annual rankings recognise the top-performing hotels for MICE business, as well as the world’s most coveted meeting destinations
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
Cvent, an industry-leading meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider, today released its lists of the Top Meeting Destinations and Top Meeting Hotels for the Middle East & Africa (MEA). These lists – which also include regional rankings for North America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe – were compiled based on sourcing activity through the Cvent Supplier Network, one of the world’s largest venue-sourcing platforms. More than $16B of MICE business was sourced through Cvent’s online platforms in 2023.
The annual Cvent Top Lists have become go-to resources for event organisers worldwide looking for incredible hotels and destinations to host their events. The Company hosted a live press conference at IMEX Frankfurt to share more in-depth details and recognise top hotels and destinations in person.
Cvent Top Meeting Destinations | MEA
The top two spots on the Top Meeting Destinations list were once again claimed by Dubai (#1) and Istanbul (#2). Abu Dhabi (#3) improved its 2023 ranking to round out the Top 3. Riyadh (#7), Doha (#8), and Casablanca (#10) each improved their rankings year-over-year to secure their placement in the Top 10.
Top 10 Meeting Destinations
| 1. Dubai, UAE |
| 2. Istanbul, Turkey |
| 3. Abu Dhabi, UAE |
| 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 |
Karina Lance, Associate Vice President, Dubai Business Events, said: “Driven by the city’s visionary leadership, Dubai continues to cement its status as a leading global business events hub, and we are delighted to once again be named the Top Meeting Destination in the Middle East and Africa. Engaging with meeting planners is at the heart of our strategy to capture business events, whether through technology platforms such as Cvent, meeting them in their home markets, or bringing them to Dubai to see and experience the city’s latest offerings. Working with our stakeholders and partners across the city’s business events ecosystem, we are committed to further elevating global awareness of the Dubai proposition, and attracting more meetings, conferences and incentives to our destination.”
Cvent Top Meeting Hotels | MEA
Conrad Dubai (#1) and InterContinental Dubai Festival City (#2) secured the Top 2 spots on this year’s list, while Grosvenor House, a Luxury Collection Hotel (#3), improved its year-over-year ranking significantly to round out the Top 3. Grosvenor House was one of just five hotels that received Gold ‘Dubai Sustainable Tourism Stamps,’ which may have had a positive impact on its MICE success as event organisers prioritise environmentally friendly properties. Additional newcomers to the Top 10 include Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah, Dubai (#6), The St. Regis Downtown Dubai (#8) and Grand Hyatt Istanbul (#10).
Top 10 Meeting Hotels
| 1. Conrad Dubai |
| 2. InterContinental Dubai Festival City |
| 3. Grosvenor House, a 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 |
Methodology
For Cvent Top Meeting Destinations, Cvent evaluated 12,500+ cities worldwide listed on the Cvent Supplier Network (CSN). Activity was tracked between January 2023 and December 2023. Rankings were determined by a set of qualifying criteria, including: the number of total room nights booked; the number of unique electronic request-for-proposals (RFPs) sent through the marketplace to venues within the city; the total value of the RFPs submitted; and the actual awarded value for meetings booked.
For Cvent Top Meeting Hotels, Cvent evaluated hotel properties that generated business through the CSN between January 2023 and December 2023. The properties were ranked according to various criteria, including total requests for proposals (RFPs), awarded RFPs, total room nights, awarded room nights, major metropolitan area market share, conversion rate, and response rate. The criteria are designed to provide the most accurate reflection of the top meeting hotels in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions.
