An investigation of the rotation patterns of international association meetings and events

International association meetings and events (IAMEs) are a significant segment of the business events sector. Noting the dearth of longitudinal research to confirm how these events rotate globally, regionally and over time, this study conducted an analysis of the rotation patterns of IAMEs based on 236 meeting iterations held between 2009 and 2019 and drawn from the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) database. Results confirmed that global events rotated more widely geographically but also less often, whilst most regional events were annual events. These were held in the same continent of the association awarding the rights to host the event, thereby demonstrating less reach. Association preferences for rotating IAMEs were mixed across different geographies. The implications of the findings are briefly discussed.