International meetings are making their comeback post-pandemic, with research highlighting that business travel bookings for the first three months of 2022 alone surpassed more than half of all bookings for 2021, with an 875% increase from March 2021 to March 2022.
This is reassuring considering that 77% of business travellers admitted that the increased reliance on virtual work negatively impacted workplace culture. So, now that the world has opened up once again and travel is back on the cards, the team behind the leading MICE industry event, IBTM, has analysed cities around the world to find out which are considered the ‘most cultural’ and help to narrow down the options for anyone planning an International meeting where culture is at the forefront.
Most Cultural Cities For International Meetings
1) New York City, United States of America
2) Paris, France
3) London, United Kingdom
4) Berlin, Germany
5) Tokyo, Japan
6) Amsterdam, Netherlands
6) Milan, Italy
8) Rome, Italy
9) Vienna, Austria
10) San Francisco, United States of America
To compile the ‘Cultural Cities For International Meetings’ Index, IBTM first collated a list using the ICCA 2021 ’50 best destinations’ list and the ‘most attended destinations’ in the 2019 ICCA report. The team then analysed each of the cities included for the following factors: UNESCO World Heritage Sites, museums, Michelin Guide restaurants, art galleries, theatres, architectural buildings and street art.
Taking first place for the ‘most cultural city’ in this study is one of the world’s most famous cities, New York. As well as scoring in first place overall, the American city also took the top spot for two factors – the most Michelin Guide restaurants and recognised street art pieces.
In second place overall, but the highest in Europe, is the capital of France. Paris scored particularly well for Michelin Guide restaurants, being second to only New York with 435 acclaimed fine-dining establishments, and for the number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Rounding up the top three ‘most cultural cities’ is another iconic destination, London. When it comes to UNESCO World Heritage, London took the top spot in the entire study by offering five sites to explore including the Tower of London and the Royal Botanic Gardens.
