PRESS RELEASE

Rotterdam, 19 May 2010

ROTTERDAM STILL SECOND IN DUTCH CONGRESS CITIES!

The City on the Maas retains its second place on the ICCA ranking

Rotterdam has retained its second-place spot on the ranking list of popular
congress locations in the Netherlands, generated from the 2009 congress
statistics compiled by the International Congress & Convention Association
(ICCA). The ICCA tracks annual global statistics for the sector. Rotterdam
ranked second again, staying ahead of both The Hague and Maastricht, which
tied for third place.

Rotterdam hosted 23 international congresses in 2009, coming in second among the

most popular Dutch congress cities. The Hague and Maastricht tied for third place,
both hosting 17 congresses last year. The list is headed by Amsterdam, where 98
congresses were held in 2009.

ICCA is one of the most prominent organisations in international association

congresses. It is the leading association for specialists in organisation, transport and
accommodations related to international congresses, conventions and events. ICCA
has 850 members from 85 countries all over the world.

Incentive Fund brings more congresses to Rotterdam

The Rotterdam Incentive Fund offers financial support to the organisers of
international association congresses under certain terms. The Fund has been active for
several years and will be continued in the coming year, focusing on the city’s main
themes of port and industry, medical and the creative sector. Funding applications can
be submitted to Rotterdam Marketing (Rotterdam Convention Bureau), which also
arranges site inspections and provides advice on holding a congress in the city and
compiling and producing the bid book. Rotterdam Marketing also provides free
promotional materials for bid presentations and for congress attendees.

Examples of events that were supported by the fund include the 2010 European
Design Festival, the 2010 Annual Conference of the Council for Supply Chain
Management and the 2011 ESE Congress of the European Society of Endocrinology.