On 7 May 2020 UIA (Union of International Assiociations) published its latest statistics report „61 International Meetings Statistics Report 2020” covering 2019, where Poland recorded an increase compared to the previous year.

Poland, with 103 events (according to UIA criteria) was 24 in the world ranking presenting 100 countries. Among 100 cities from around the world, Warsaw was ranked 41, and Kraków – 51. Compared to the previous year, the number of events from Poland registered in the UIA database increased by 23.

In Europe, Poland ranks 14 out of 39 countries included in the ranking. Among 50 European cities, Polish metropolises took respectively 22 (Warsaw) and 30 (Kraków) position.

In addition, UIA has registered in its database:

• by 10 events from Gdańsk, Poznań i Wrocław,
• by 3 – from Katowice and Łódź,
• by 1 – from Białowieża, Jastarnia, Lublin, Wieliczka and Zakopane.

The full report is available on the UIA website after logging in to the member profile.

The UIA is a research institute and documentation centre that for more than 100 years has been collecting and submitting information about the market for international meetings of non-governmental associations and intergovernmental organisations plus development directions and trends. Its International Meeting Statistics Report ranking is based on collected data about international meetings that simultaneously match the following four criteria: they last at least three days, they gather at least 300 participants, at least five nationalities are represented, at least 40% of the participants are from countries other than the host country.

UIA forecasts an increase in the number of regional congresses compared to the global category, attributing it to the phenomenon of glocalisation1 and the number of global meetings taking second place to regional events. The most conspicuous change recorded by the UIA involves a geographical shift of congress settings to the East, from Europe to Asia. While Europe continues to be attractive to associations, Asia is picked increasingly often as many cities are joining efforts aimed at international associations. Interestingly, the UIA also continues to record a growing number of congresses attended in person, in spite of forecasts claiming and recent experience with the COVID-19 pandemic, they will be making way for virtual meetings.

The Polish Tourism Organisation, with the Poland Convention Bureau operating within its structures, has been a member of UIA since 2011.