Berlin, 20 June 2014 A total of 34 major international representatives of associations and convention offices will be gathering for the workshop of the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA) in Berlin from 26–28 June. It is the first ICCA Sector Destination Marketing International Client/Supplier Business Workshop to be held in the German capital. During the three-day event, participants will discuss the associations’ requirements that potential meeting destinations for future conventions need to fulfil.

Heike Mahmoud, Conventions Director of the visitBerlin Berlin Convention Office: "The first ICCA Workshop in Berlin is the ideal opportunity for the city to present itself to a high-profile international audience. Besides the new CityCube Berlin, participants will experience the cosmopolitan and dynamic city that Berlin has become a quarter century after the fall of the Wall."

The workshop will be held at the InterContinental Hotel, with one day at CityCube Berlin. The three-day workshop will enable an intensive exchange among the participating convention offices and associations.

Berlin – popular location for association conventions

Participants were eager to come to the first meeting of the major industry association in Berlin: the workshop was fully booked already in January, four months before the official registration deadline. In general, professional associations are increasingly opting to hold their conventions in Berlin. According to the latest statistics of the International Congress & Convention Association, Berlin is currently ranked fifth among convention destinations.

Science meets in Berlin

A majority of the associations participating in the ICCA Workshop are from the medical field. In recent years, Berlin has established itself as a location for science and medical events. Of a total of 126,200 events held in 2013*, meetings and conventions in the field of medicine, science and research accounted for a 14 per cent share, the top sector coming to Berlin.

There is a preference for holding the ICCA workshop in cities that have not previously hosted the gathering. The host of the ICCA Workshop will be the Berlin Convention Office of visitBerlin. The event is supported by InterContinental Berlin, Catering's Best and CityCube Berlin.

For more information about the ICCA workshop, go to www.iccaworld.com/dbs/berlin2014.

* Source: 2013 convention statistics from the independent market research company ghh consult GmbH on behalf of visitBerlin.