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The fast-growing destination wedding industry has emerged as a lucrative business opportunity for wedding planners around the world, and is today worth a whopping $90 billion, representing 25% of the global wedding market. For over 6 months prior to the industry’s biggest event, the recently concluded Destination Wedding Planners (DWP) Congress 2018 in Los Cabos, Mexico, a dedicated research team at Dubai-based QnA International, organizers of the annual conference, delved deep into various aspects of the destination wedding planning industry as they put together a comprehensive global survey.
The highly anticipated results of the survey were announced during the 5th annual DWP Congress, and they reveal fascinating insights into the trends and forces shaping the global destination wedding industry including the most popular locations couples choose to marry away from home.
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North and Central America, the survey results show, is the world’s biggest destination wedding market, with an overall value of $27 billion which amounts to a 30% share of the global pie, followed by Asia which accounts for 22% of the global destination wedding industry valued at $19.8 billion. Europe contributes $18 billion or 20% to the global market, while South America and the Caribbean Islands emergethe next big contributors with $10.8 billion which translates into a 12% share of the total global destination wedding industry. Australia and New Zealand together make up 6% of the global market, contributing $5.4 billion, while Africa and the Middle East contribute 5% or $4.5 billion each, making it 10% or $9 billion each.
Top geographic choices for destination weddings were again different across the surveyed geographic locations and each surveyed location revealed an interesting mix.
| Geographic location of Couples | Top Destinations | Emerging Destinations |
| North and Cental America | Mexico, Italy, Caribbean Islands, Hawaii, France, USA | Croatia, Iceland, Thailand, Indonesia, Portugal, Argentina, South Africa, Spain, Greece, Australia, Ireland, Morocco, India |
| South America & Caribbean Islands | Mexico, Caribbean Islands, Brazil, Columbia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, USA | Italy, France, Hawaii, Switzerland, South Africa, Spain, Morocco, Greece |
| Europe | Italy, Greece, Spain, France, England, Indonesia, Croatia, Portugal | Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Thailand, Austria, Switzerland, UAE, Ireland |
| Africa | UK, Italy, UAE, South Africa, France, Seychelles, Maurit | Greece, Spain, Turkey, Mexico, Oman, Morocco |
| Middle East | UAE, France, UK, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Thailand, Indonesia, Lebanon, Morocco | Portugal, Morocco, Thailand, Maldives, Mauritius, Spain |
| Asia | Italy, Greece, Turkey, Thailand, UAE, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Spain | Portugal, Vietnam, Croatia, Austria, Hungary, Macau, Maldives, Czech Republic, France, Spain |
| Australia & New Zealand | Thailand, Indonesia, Italy, Greece, France, Fiji, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand | Mexico, North America, Vietnam, Spain, Singapore, UAE, |
The survey offers fascinating insights into how the destination wedding industry is shaping up globally, throwing light on interesting patterns and differentials such as the wide variations that characterize wedding budget allocation and number of invitees across geographical regions. Whereas destination weddings in Europe and the Americas are typically a small and intimate affair attended by no more than 50 to 200 guests, the guest list ranges anywhere from 300 to 1,000 for weddings organized in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
The divergence in trends and preferences across the regions surveyed is even more striking when it comes to the top geographic choices for destination weddings.
Mexico is the most popular place to get married for couples from both North and South America, while Italy and Greece emerge the top destinations for European and Asian couples. France is the No. 1 choice for couples from the Middle East, just ahead of the United Kingdom (UK). The UK meanwhile, tops the list of preferred destinations for couples from Africa, whilst the UAE, Thailand and Indonesia are the most sought-after places for couples from the Middle East, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
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Not withstanding the broader regional divergence, the survey results also highlight common trends across geographies. For instance, a number of European countries such as Italy, France, Spain and Greece feature among either the top or emerging destinations for couples globally.
The survey also puts the spotlight on the rising stars of the global destination wedding industry, such as Croatia and Iceland which are emerging as popular choices for couples in North and Central America, as well as, Vietnam and the Caribbean Islands which are fast becoming the preferred wedding destinations for couples in Asia-Pacific and Europe respectively.
Speaking on the survey results at the 5th annual DWP Congress, Ackash Jain, Director, QnA International, said, “As the only global study on the destination wedding industry, this survey provides a rare window into the factors influencing the growth and direction of the wedding tourism market in different geographic regions. The results have been very interesting, and will proveuseful to stakeholders across the global destination wedding landscape, enriching their understanding of the behavioral dynamics of specific markets.”
The DWP Congress is an exclusive, ‘by invitation only’ conference that is focused on luxury destination wedding professionals who are looking to collaborate with like-minded mavens in the wedding business to glean fresh perspectives, do business and network with some of the top creative partners and suppliers from all over the world.