Last night, the 2023 Conference Achievement of the Year was announced at Fotografiska where Tallinn Deputy Mayor Joosep Vimm and Chairman of the Estonian Convention Bureau Ott Sarapuu acknowledged the past year's most outstanding conference organizers, highlighting 27 events that generated an estimated benefit of over 9.5 million euros to the city and Estonia's economy.

Deputy Mayor Joosep Vimm highlighted the significant potential of conference tourism, noting its high return on investment. "Tallinn is internationally recognized primarily as a venue for professional and scientific conferences. These events help to promote the city as a leading center in many fields and strengthen the cooperation opportunities for our scientists, specialists, and entrepreneurs. Naturally, large events also bring clients to Tallinn's businesses," Vimm explained.

Ott Sarapuu, Chairman of the Estonian Convention Bureau, also noted the substantial economic benefits conference tourism brings to the city. "Last year, the Estonian Convention Bureau's calendar featured over 170 major international professional and scientific conferences, with 126 taking place in Tallinn. At the appreciation event, we recognized 27 outstanding events that stood out for their internationality and large number of participants, contributed to innovation in their fields, and sparked discussion. These events brought nearly 7,600 foreign delegates to Tallinn, contributing an estimated over 9.5 million euros to the economy," Sarapuu described.

In addition to highlighting events in Tallinn, the Estonian Convention Bureau's 2023 Conference Achievement of the Year award was presented at the appreciation event. The award recipient was the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) March Meeting 2023, organized by the The Estonian Medical Students’ Association and held from March 1 to 7 at the Viru Conference Center in Tallinn. The event, taking place during the tourism off-season, brought a significant number of international guests to Tallinn - over 800 medical students from more than 80 countries.

The event also recognized conference ambassadors belonging to international professional networks. Tallinn now has 108 conference ambassadors, with three new additions: professor Anastassia Zabrodskaja from Tallinn University, academic Dmitri Vinnikov from TalTech University, and Andrii Chub from TalTech University.

The Conference Achievement of the Year award has been presented since 2011. The competition was not held in 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic. Previous winners can be viewed on the Estonian Convention Bureau website.

A list of all the recognized conferences can be found HERE. Additional information (in Estonian language) about the conference ambassador program is available on the ECB (Estonian Convention Bureau) website.