These prestigious international awards, which recognize excellence in meetings tourism, have positioned the Spanish capital as an undisputed leader for organizing professional events. Madrid surpassed other renowned candidate cities in the voting, including Los Angeles, Singapore, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Berlin, and Rome.
The award highlights values of innovation, competitiveness, creativity, social and environmental sustainability, as well as the close collaboration between public bodies and the private sector. These factors have been key in consolidating Madrid as a top-tier destination for meetings tourism.
The Madrid Convention Bureau (MCB), a specialized department of the Delegated Area of Tourism, is responsible for channeling this cooperation. It works jointly with its 225 associated companies, representing all business sectors involved in this industry.
This recognition underscores the confidence of industry professionals in business tourism in Madrid and its capacity to offer unique and original experiences with a positive impact, particularly in the incentive travel segment. The city thus reinforces its international reputation as a venue for all types of events, from major sporting competitions like the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix to world-class congresses such as that of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), which is expected to gather 37,000 delegates from October 23rd to 27th.
Madrid had previously been recognized in earlier editions of the World MICE Awards, winning the award for best European MICE destination in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Furthermore, the capital has also been nominated as the world's best meetings and congress destination in the grand final of the World Travel Awards 2026, considered the most prominent awards in the international tourism industry. Madrid is the only destination to have won this award globally for seven consecutive times. Voting for this category will be open until October 30th.
Additionally, Madrid competes in the European edition of this same category, where it holds eight consecutive victories and aims to retain its leadership for the ninth time. The awards ceremony will be held on October 17th in Kotor (Montenegro).
