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Business Intelligence Coopetition

The ICCA Business Intelligence Coopetition celebrates the ingenuity of ICCA members who turn data into action — and intelligence into business.

Powered by Bco Congresos and ICCA, the initiative was born from a simple conviction: one of ICCA’s most valuable assets is the intelligence held within its community and its Business Intelligence tools, and the Congress should provide a space where members can show one another how they use that intelligence to generate real business.

Built by members, for members, the Coopetition provides a global stage for real-world applications of ICCA Business Intelligence. It goes beyond demonstrating what the platform can do: it highlights practical research, business development and strategic decision-making approaches that can be shared across the ICCA community.

For its fourth edition, four finalists have been selected to present their cases live at the 65th ICCA Congress in Panama on Monday, 9 November, from 14:00 to 15:00. Together, they show that Business Intelligence is not one-size-fits-all: its value lies in how different ICCA members turn information into better decisions, stronger opportunities and measurable results.

Meet the 2026 Finalists

Cancun Centre

From Data to the Right Opportunity: How Commercial Intelligence Helped Cancún Win ISUOG

Cancun Center shows why successful business development is not about pursuing more leads, but identifying the right ones. Combining ICCA BI with fifteen years of commercial intelligence experience, the team assessed the potential of ISUOG, understood where Cancún could compete and transformed data into a focused proposition and relationship-building strategy.

The result: ISUOG 2025 was held at Cancun Center, welcoming 1,800 attendees and more than 4,000 square metres of exhibition space.

Costa Rica Convention Center

Country First, Then the Database: Turning Priority Clusters into Winning Congress Opportunities

Costa Rica Convention Center turns the traditional search process on its head: rather than starting with the database, it starts with the country’s strategic priorities.

Its three-step model combines national priority clusters with ICCA BI data, scores and segments opportunities using 11 weighted criteria, and then identifies the right local champion to support each bid. Starting with more than 11,000 meeting series, the methodology narrowed the field to 53 strategically aligned opportunities.

Since 2025, 153 candidacies have been assessed using the model and eight have been won, demonstrating a methodology that other destinations can adapt to their own strategic priorities.

The result: ISUOG 2025 was held at Cancun Center, welcoming 1,800 attendees and more than 4,000 square metres of exhibition space.

ExpoPlatform

Beyond Bidding: How an Event Technology Provider Uses ICCA BI to Find New Business

What happens when ICCA BI is used not to win a congress for a destination, but to identify business opportunities for an event technology company?

ExpoPlatform brings a particularly valuable perspective to the Coopetition, demonstrating the potential of ICCA BI for members from the Meetings & Events Solutions sector, a part of the ICCA community whose perspective is less frequently represented in business intelligence case studies, but which can bring significant value to the wider membership.

By combining exhibition requirements, supplier gaps, geographic filters and RFP timing, ExpoPlatform uses the same data through a completely different lens: identifying associations and events where its technology could add value. The case also demonstrates the importance of combining ICCA BI with external verification and internal CRM intelligence, turning thousands of database records into a focused and actionable sales pipeline.

The result: ISUOG 2025 was held at Cancun Center, welcoming 1,800 attendees and more than 4,000 square metres of exhibition space.

Invest in Bogotá Convention Bureau

Meet NORA: Turning 10,000+ ICCA Meetings into a Pipeline of Real Opportunities

Invest in Bogotá Convention Bureau takes ICCA BI into machine learning with NORA, its New Opportunities & Research Assistant.

Trained on ten years of ICCA BI history, NORA learns from the characteristics of congresses previously hosted in Bogotá and scores new opportunities according to how closely they match that winning profile. Using variables such as rotation, frequency, duration, subject, attendance, venue type and local-host presence, the model helps the commercial team focus its expertise where it can create the greatest value.

From more than 10,000 meetings, NORA identified just 58 high-potential opportunities, reducing the noise by more than 99%. Four congresses have already been confirmed, including CLAMOC 2028, which NORA identified as a 92% match before the commercial team made its first approach.

The Judging Panel

The 2026 finalists were selected by a judging panel bringing together expertise in business development, research, market analytics and the international meetings industry. Their combined perspectives help ensure that cases are assessed not only on innovative use of ICCA BI, but also on strategic thinking, practical application, results and the value of the lessons they can share with the wider ICCA community.

Juan José García

Global Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Bco Congresos | ICCA Board Member

Kevin Bate

Vice President, Global Sales, Simpleview

Kavitha Pragalathan

Manager Research & Market Analytics, ICCA

Penelope Ryan

Global Manager Business Events, Tourism New Zealand, 2025 ICCA BI Coopetition winner

How The Winner Is Decided

Congress delegates will have the opportunity to vote during the Coopetition session. The final result will combine audience and jury scores, keeping the ICCA community at the heart of the decision.

Winner announcement: Mainstage Session: SHARING HUBS & CELEBRATIONS, Monday 9 November, 15:45–17:00.

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