London voted top European meeting destination – Amex GBT

London has retained its position as Europe’s top destination for business meetings in American Express Global Business Travel’s annual survey.

The poll saw event professionals rate destinations on six key metrics: accessibility, cost, safety, facilities, amenities and environmental practices. Read more about it below.

Here are the top headlines for your weekly event news updates:

• London voted top destination for meeting profs in Europe – Amex GBT
• Pet Fair South China reports record-breaking edition
• APAC leads global venue capacity – UFI report
• IEG breaks ground on new 22,000 sqm hall at Vicenza Expo Centre
• ILTM Cannes marks largest edition with 85,000+ meetings

Event tech is evolving – through eventprofs like you. Share your thoughts where the industry is headed with our Event Tech Survey 2025 (you will be among the first to get a free copy if you do so)

London voted top European meeting destination – Amex GBT

London has once again been voted the top European destination for meetings, according to American Express (Amex) Global Business Travel’s annual survey.

The city claimed the top spot as the leading destination for the second year running.

The survey polled 170 meetings professionals with destinations based on travel accessibility, cost, safety, facilities, amenities and environmental commitments.

Key findings from the top five destinations:

• London leads with six major airports, extensive public transport and venues accommodating up to 3,000 people
• Madrid ranked second, offering competitive rates and year-round moderate temperatures, with July peaks of 76°F
• Barcelona placed third, highlighted by its Biosphere Certification for sustainable travel
• Paris secured fourth place with over 1,600 hotels and three international airports
• Berlin entered the top five, replacing Amsterdam, due to its cost-effective venues and accommodations

The survey is part of the company’s Meetings and Events Forecast and aims to guide meeting planners in destination selection.

Pet Fair South China reports record-breaking edition

Pet Fair South China drew more than 89,000 visitors to its December 2024 show in Shenzhen, setting an attendance record.

The three-day exhibition featured over 350 exhibitors representing 2,000-plus brands across 50,000 square meters of space at the eighth edition held Dec 6-8.

 The event was part of GLOBUS Events’ Pet Fair Network’s 2024 calendar, which saw a record 89,278 attendance across all its major events including Pet Fair Shanghai, Pet Fair Southeast Asia and Pet Fair Beijing.

David Zhong, founder and president of Globus Events / Pet Fair Asia, said: “The growth of Pet Fair Asia and its expansion, not only in China but also in other Asian markets, is a testament to the continuous growth of the pet industry in this region.

“These markets, and in particular, China, remain resilient and dynamic, and bring to the industry fascinating innovations and trends.

“The vast range of products and solutions presented at our shows make them unique for pet industry players worldwide.”

Pet Fair South China serves China’s Greater Bay Area market. Its parent company GLOBUS Events recently acquired China Pet Expo and will merge it with Pet Fair Beijing to create China’s second-largest pet industry show.

The next Pet Fair South China is scheduled for December 2025 in Shenzhen.

APAC leads global venue capacity – UFI report

APAC has reported the greatest global exhibition venue capacity and surpassed Europe for the first time, according to the UFI World Map of Exhibition Venues 2024.

The global census, conducted in collaboration with jwc GmbH, analyzed venues with at least 5,000 sqm of indoor exhibition space as of December 2023.

Key findings from the report:

• APAC came out on top for global exhibition venue capacity with 38.5%, surpassing Europe’s 36.7% share
• China dominates the global market with 31.3% of total venue capacity, followed by the United States at 14.2% and Germany at 7.3%
• The top five markets – China, USA, Germany, Italy, and France – now control 63.5% of global exhibition space, an increase of 1.1 percentage points
• Europe maintains a narrow lead in mega venues (facilities exceeding 100,000 sq m) with 39 locations, compared to Asia-Pacific’s 38
• North America ranks third globally at 17.1% of total venue capacity

The report includes detailed profiles of 22 markets with over 300,000 sqm of gross indoor exhibition space, adding Ethiopia and Ivory Coast for the first time.

UFI CEO Kai Hattendorf said: “Exhibition venues are key drivers of the development of our industry globally.

“The 2024 World Map of Exhibition Venues offers unparalleled insight into the scale and distribution of this vital resource.

“This is helping industry professionals make informed decisions in an ever-changing global landscape.

“As a forward-looking indicator, venue developments are investments into future exhibition business.

“With this in mind, one key development is that Asia-Pacific now offers more total venue space than Europe – for the first time since UFI began tracking venue sizes.”

IEG breaks ground on new 22,000 sqm hall at Vicenza Expo Centre

Italian Exhibition Group has started construction on a 22,000 sqm hall at the Vicenza Expo Centre, expanding the venue’s total space to more than 100,000 sqm.

The expansion is designed by Hamburg-based Studio GMP and will replace Pavilion 2 – a structure built in 1971.

The €60 million project aims to improve visitor flow at the exhibition center, which hosts major jewelry trade shows including Vicenzaoro and T.gold.

IEG President Maurizio Ermeti and architect Volkwin Marg led a groundbreaking ceremony attended by Vicenza Mayor Giacomo Possamai and local officials.

Maurizio said: “More than fifty years ago, visionaries laid the foundation stone of the ´snail´ with the hope of improving their lives, businesses and the territory.

“Today, with this symbolic gesture, we are renewing that intention by building a larger, more technological and powerful structure to maintain Vicenzaoro´s status as a European and international leader in the jewellery sector.

“Not only that, this new infrastructure will also allow us to expand our calendar of events and that of our congress centre, making us even more attractive.

“Our thanks go to the city, the territory and the stakeholders who have supported our vision».

IEG CEO Corrado Peraboni added: “Making the Vicenza Expo more competitive in infrastructural terms means maintaining Vicenzaoro´s leadership position in Europe and its specificity in the international context.

“But it also means strengthening the internationalisation strategy that IEG has put into action for its jewellery shows with the hubs in Dubai and Singapore: creating platforms for markets that then have a positive impact on foreign operators visiting Italy.”

The Vicenza Expo Centre currently spans 80,000 sqm and competes with Veronafiere as one of Northern Italy’s largest exhibition venues.

ILTM Cannes marks largest edition with 85,000+ meetings

ILTM Cannes reported its largest edition till date with over 85,000 scheduled meetings, marking a 12% year-over-year growth.

The event was held on December 2-5 2024 and connected 2,350 buyers from 84 countries with an equal number of brands from 105 countries – with 30% of buyers attending for the first time.

Key highlights include:

• New dedicated areas featured Accor’s Grand Pavilion on the Palais beach and Leading Hotels of the World’s hospitality terrace
• Tourism boards from Australia, Egypt and Mauritius joined as first-time exhibitors
• California, Brazil, Oman, Japan and Croatia expanded their presence at the show
• Major hotel groups including Hilton Luxury, Hyatt Hotels and Marriott International Luxury increased their exhibition space

The event hosted more than 100 travel editors from luxury publications for speed networking sessions, press conferences and one-on-one meetings with exhibitors.

Book a free consultation with ExpoPlatform to understand how tech can help you nurture your event leads and accelerate the sales pipeline.