Houston has been chosen as the host of International Congress and Convention Association’s (ICCA) 2019 Congress. ICCA president Nina Freysen-Pretorius announced the news at the 54th ICCA General Assembly in Buenos Aires.
“Never has a bidding city received so much support from members in other countries within their region, and this, coupled with this bid’s technical excellence and creativity, meant that the Board had no hesitation in making this decision,” said Freysen-Pretorius.
“This is the fourth time Houston has bid to host ICCA’s global community, so I’m really delighted that our commitment has been recognised, and that we finally have the opportunity to turn our creative ideas into reality,” said Daniel Palomo from Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, who is also North American representative on the ICCA Board of Directors. “We are determined to generate real business opportunities not just in our own city but for our colleagues across the region, and to introduce delegates to the many reasons why Houston is such a successful meetings destination, as well as giving them a warm Texas welcome!”
It has been 32 years since the ICCA met in the U.S. It was held in Albuquerque, NM in 1987. The ICCA Congress took place Nov. 1-4 in Buenos Aires, Argentina with 766 delegates from 66 countries. The ICCA will move to Sarawak, Malaysia in 2016, Prague in 2017, and Dubai in 2018 before the 2019 Congress in Houston.
