What benefits does a conference bring to your host city?
An international conference attendee spends an average of €637.38 per day in the Netherlands. This is according to new research by Ecorys, commissioned by The Hague & Partners, Rotterdam Partners and Utrecht & Partners (March 2026). Conferences are therefore not a cost item, but a driving force for the urban economy. In this article, you can read about the benefits of conferences, which cities in Europe and the Netherlands top the ICCA rankings for 2025, and which Dutch cities are on the rise: Utrecht and Leiden.
Key figures at a glance
- €637.38 spent per international conference attendee per conference day (net, within the Dutch economy)
- €4.4 million economic impact and 73 FTE employment per 10,000 conference days
- 3.7 conference days and 3.75 nights is the average length of stay for an international participant
- 41.5% of participants extend or bring forward their stay (bleisure)
- Lisbon, Paris and Barcelona top the global ICCA rankings for 2025
- Utrecht and Leiden rise in the Dutch ICCA rankings
What does a conference attendee spend their money on?
The previous figure from 2014 was €389 per day. The new survey (1,005 interviews at seven conferences in The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht) shows that actual expenditure is much higher. The figure of €637.38 per conference day is broken down as follows:
| Expenditure item | Amount per day | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Conference registration | €236.80 | 37.2% |
| Accommodation (hotel) | €187.99 | 29.5% |
| Transport to the Netherlands | €95.25 | 14.9% |
| Food and drink | €60.32 | 9.5% |
| Shopping and souvenirs | €27.31 | 4.3% |
| Transport within the Netherlands | €16.78 | 2.6% |
| Excursions and culture | €6.55 | 1.0% |
| Visas, travel documents and other | €6.38 | 1.0% |
Those euros go directly to hotels, restaurants, transport providers and conference venues.
Bas Schot, director of The Hague Convention Bureau: “With figures like these, you can demonstrate to the local council that this is not a cost, but an investment with a return.”
Bleisure: the conference attendee stays longer
A striking finding: 41.5% of conference attendees arrive early or extend their stay. And of that group, 98% stay in the city. So, anyone who secures a conference also brings in extra hotel stays, museum visits and restaurant turnover.
More than money: knowledge, talent and innovation
The value of conferences goes beyond the box office. Conferences also contribute to:
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- Knowledge sharing and innovation — medical, scientific and tech conferences in particular strengthen universities and research centres
- Attracting talent and businesses — international visitors get to know the region, leading to investment and new businesses setting up here
- Employment — the business events market accounts for tens of thousands of jobs in hospitality, technology, logistics and marketing
The top convention cities of Europe (ICCA 2025)
The 2025 ICCA ranking (published in May 2026) includes only international association conferences that rotate between at least three countries and have at least 50 participants. Europe dominates: 14 of the world’s 20 largest conference cities are located in Europe.
The global top 10:
- Lisbon (188 conferences)
- Paris (174)
- Barcelona (166)
- Vienna (159)
- Singapore
- Prague
- Copenhagen
- London
- Seoul
- Tokyo
Barcelona has been in the global top 5 for 25 years running. Amsterdam ranks 20th globally, making it the highest-ranked Dutch city. The Netherlands ranks 9th globally as a conference destination.
Dutch conference cities: Utrecht and Leiden on the rise
The top 5 Dutch venues in the 2025 ICCA rankings:
Utrecht is on the up. The city ranks among the best in the country, partly thanks to its focus on knowledge conferences on health, sustainability and smart technology (“Green, Healthy & Smart”). In 2025, Utrecht hosted the Annual POLIS Conference in the Beatrix Building, amongst other events, and was a co-initiator of the new spending review.
Leiden has secured its fifth place in the Netherlands, hosting 16 international association conferences in 2025. Globally, Leiden ranks 167th and 91st in Europe — an impressive achievement for a compact city situated amongst much larger conference destinations. The secret? A strong network of knowledge ambassadors: scientists and medical specialists who bring conferences in their field to the city. According to ICCA, almost 60% of all conference ambassadors worldwide come from universities.
Miranda Geerlings, manager of the Leiden Convention Bureau: “Conferences are much more than just economic drivers; they create opportunities for collaboration, innovation and knowledge-sharing that continue to have an impact long after the event has ended.”
And what about the trade fairs? The sector is stabilizing, fairs are getting bigger
In addition to conferences, trade and public fairs are also a key pillar of the business events market. Preliminary figures from the 2025 Trade Fair Monitor by research agency Respons (commissioned by CLC-VECTA, March 2026) show:
- The number of trade fairs and visits fell slightly; consumer fairs remained stable
- The number of square metres let rose — so fairs are getting bigger
- Media spending increased
- There were a historically low number of new trade fair concepts; high costs and risks play a role
- The outlook for 2026 is moderately positive, with rising costs and staff shortages as the biggest challenges
The lesson for organisers: the market does not grow by itself. Anyone wishing to attract visitors and exhibitors must be visible where the target group is looking. (Tip: register on congresagenda.nl)
Frequently asked questions
The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) counts the number of international association congresses held in each city and country every year. Only congresses that are held on a regular basis, rotate between at least three countries and have at least 50 participants are included in the count.
An international conference attendee contributes €637.38 net to the Dutch economy per conference day (€737.04 gross, including international travel costs). Source: Ecorys study 2025.
For every 10,000 conference days, a conference generates an economic impact of €4.4 million and creates 73 full-time equivalent jobs. In addition, conferences promote knowledge sharing, innovation and international visibility.
66.3% come from Europe. The top three countries of origin are: the United Kingdom (11.7%), Germany (9.1%) and France (7.6%). The US accounts for 7.2%.
Bleisure is een combinatie van de Engelse woorden business (zaken) en leisure (vrije tijd). Het betekent dat je een zakelijke reis combineert met ontspanning. Bijvoorbeeld: je bezoekt een congres in Barcelona en blijft daarna nog twee dagen om de stad te ontdekken.
Bleisure is geen niche meer. Uit onderzoek van Ecorys (2026) blijkt dat 41,5% van de internationale congresbezoekers in Nederland het verblijf verlengt of vervroegt. Van die groep blijft 98% in de congresstad zelf.
Er zijn meerdere manieren van bleisure:
- Verlengen of vervroegen. Je plakt een paar dagen privé vast aan je zakelijke reis. Vaak een weekend voor of na een congres. De werkgever betaalt meestal de reis en het verblijf voor de werkdagen. De extra dagen betaal je zelf.
- Tijdens de reis. Je plant vrije activiteiten in de avond of tussen zakelijke afspraken door. Denk aan een museum, restaurant of stadswandeling.
- Werken op afstand in de congresstad. Je werkt dde dag ervoor of erna nog in de congresstad waar je verblijft. Werken op afstand is normaal geworden. Je kunt op locatie nog een paar dagen doorwerken
Veel. Een internationale congresbezoeker geeft gemiddeld €637 per dag uit in Nederland (Ecorys, 2026). Wie langer blijft, geeft meer uit aan hotels, restaurants, winkels en cultuur. Een congresdeelnemer verblijft gemiddeld 3,75 nachten, terwijl het congres gemiddeld 3,7 dagen duurt. Per 10.000 congresdagen levert dat €4,4 miljoen economische impact en 73 fte werkgelegenheid op.
Het versil tussen bleisure en workation is:
- Bleisure: een zakelijke reis (zoals een congres) met vrije tijd en/of werk op afstand eromheen. Werk en congresbezoek is de hoofdreden van de reis.
- Workation: een vakantie of reis waarbij je op afstand werkt. Vrije tijd is de hoofdreden, werk reist mee.
Op Congresagenda.nl vind je congressen, seminars en beurzen in Nederland, België en Europa — gefilterd op vakgebied, datum en locatie. Bekijk ook de congressteden-pagina’s met informatie over prachtige bestemmingen als Lissabon, Barcelona, Wenen en Kopenhagen.