Singapore named top global meetings city

For the first time Singapore has been ranked the world's "Top International Meeting City" in the Union of International Associations' (UIA) latest global rankings.

Last year, the C&I sector accounted for around three million visitor arrivals and contributed over £1.6bn - 40%, of total tourism receipts - a new record for Singapore. The Asian destination beat Paris (ranked second) and Vienna (third), to clinch the top position.

"The UIA congratulates Singapore on the steady growth in the number of international meetings it has hosted over the past few years, a growth that results from and reflects the focus, quality and creativity of the Singapore meetings industry," said UIA secretary-general Jacques de Mevius.

Divya Panickar, Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) area director for Northern and Western Europe added: "We are delighted to be named the top city in the world for meetings."

Also in the UIA's International Meetings Statistics 2007 report Singapore topped the rankings as Asia's top country and city for meetings for the 25th consecutive year. Singapore accounted for 22.5% of the meetings held in the continent in 2007.

"We want to continue to exceed the expectations of our business travellers and event organizers," Panickar added. "With exciting developments on the horizon, we are confident of meeting our goal to raise the contribution from £1.6bn to £4.12bn by 2015."