The Czech capital has maintained its position among the ten most important meeting destinations in the world - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

In its current ranking of the most significant meeting destinations in the world, compiled based on the number of association meetings fulfilling the ICCA criteria, the International Congress and Convention Association ranked Prague 6th out of a total of 4,728 evaluated cities. Despite the growing international competition, the Czech capital has thus maintained its position among the ten most important meeting destinations in the world. This year, Lisbon, Portugal, ranked highest, followed by Paris and Barcelona.

Data from the Prague Convention Bureau's membership base show that the segment of smaller events for 50 to 500 delegates recorded the most significant increase. However, in 2025, Prague also hosted more than fifty major professional congresses, conferences and corporate events with the participation of more than 1,000 delegates. Among the largest were the 47th Congress of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) with more than 4,700 delegates or the 25th World Congress of Psychiatry (WPC), which was attended by over 3,400 experts from 117 countries around the world.

The most important source markets for Prague in 2025 were the United States, Germany, Great Britain, France and Switzerland, with international events accounting for 43% of the total. At the same time, the Prague meeting industry continues to be dominated by one-day events, with an average duration of an event nearing two days.

"Competition among meeting destinations has been growing for a long time, and not only the quality of infrastructure, but also the ability of cities to actively acquire major international events plays an increasingly important role. Today, destinations around the world are investing heavily in acquisition activities and the acquisition of congresses and conferences through their convention bureaus. Therefore, the project of planned expansion of the capacities of the Prague Congress Centre, the implementation of which will begin in June this year and is expected to be completed in 2029, will be crucial for Prague's future competitiveness. Just as much, as the city's ability to succeed in the global competition for the organization of the most important international congresses and conferences in the long term," concludes Roman Muška.

To push Prague’s global competitiveness even further, the city is pulling its tourism presentation together under a single brand, with business travel now sitting alongside leisure tourism for the first time in a unified identity. The MICE segment is being fully brought in under the same umbrella. Prague City Tourism is delivering the rebranding of the Prague Convention Bureau and its first associated campaign, funded by the City of Prague with further investment earmarked for the years ahead.

“A consistent, joined-up presentation is absolutely fundamental if cities want to compete on the world stage these days. A strong identity pulls its weight not just in leisure tourism, but also when you’re going after major congresses, conferences, and the kind of high-value clients cities really want to attract,” says Tomáš Slabihoudek, Prague councilor for culture and tourism.

The brand unification builds on Prague’s 2024–2027 strategy, which aims to transform the city into a cultivated, premium destination. Business tourism plays a significant role in this by attracting high-spending visitors.

“Prague has spent several years systematically trying to shake off its image as a cheap, mass-market destination and to be seen as a city of culture, quality, and exceptional genius loci. Business tourism fits into that naturally. Congress visitors don’t just have a higher spend; they also bring expertise, contacts, and international prestige. If Prague wants to present itself as a premium destination, it has to do that across all tourism segments,” adds Jana Adamcová, vice-chair of the Prague City Tourism board.

On the business travel side, the new brand identity deliberately reaches into Prague’s past, drawing on the stories of figures historically bound up with the city. Kepler, Einstein, Doppler, and Mach have been enlisted to paint Prague as a place where, over the centuries, bohemian energy, creativity, and unconventional thinking have rubbed shoulders with science, innovation and professional scholarship. The point, as the city tells it, is that Prague is not simply a handsome backdrop for congresses and business gatherings, but a city where ideas have always taken root and continue to do so.

The first tangible fruit of the joint rebranding is an international campaign by the Prague Convention Bureau pitching the city as a premium destination for congresses, conferences, and business events. Built around the tagline “unconventional conventions”, it presents Prague as a place where good ideas don’t emerge from anonymous conference halls but from surroundings with soul, history, and a strong creative charge.

“Prague starts from a very strong position in the congress industry and has a solid track record of pulling in major international events. But to keep moving forwards, we need to present ourselves abroad in a way that is coherent and easy to read – not just as a well-connected, professionally equipped city, but as one with an extraordinary professional, cultural, and creative pedigree. Bringing the brand together helps us tell Prague’s story more effectively and make the case to organisers and professional communities for why this is exactly where their event should be,” says Roman Muška, director of the Prague Convention Bureau.

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