ICCA is proud to announce Visit Faroe Islands as the winner of the 2025 ICCA Best Marketing Award, presented during the closing ceremony of the 64th ICCA Congress in Porto, Portugal.
The ICCA Best Marketing Award, established in 1997, recognises outstanding creativity, innovation, and business success in destination and meetings industry marketing. It celebrates campaigns that demonstrate clear objectives, strong strategy, measurable impact, and alignment with ICCA’s values of connection, collaboration, and legacy.
After a live presentation session and final voting by ICCA Congress delegates, Visit Faroe Islands emerged as the winner for its campaign “Closed for Maintenance — Open for Voluntourism.”
The winning campaign highlighted the Faroe Islands’ efforts to invite volunteers who are passionate about preserving nature and wildlife to help with maintenance projects around the islands. This angle focuses on tourists as part of the solution, rather than part of the problem, encouraging visitors to immerse themselves in the beauty of the Faroe Islands and contribute to preserving this unique location.
“It feels like a giant hug from this community,” said Brim Hildardóttir Hoydal of Visit Faroe Islands. “It feels like a recognition of this campaign and our work that we are so proud of. And this is also for the Faroese people, this is also recognition of all their work, so it’s also a big shout out to them.”
Alda Magnusardóttir Egilstrøð of Visit Faroe Islands added, “Definitely also the volunteers who have been coming — huge numbers of volunteers after so many years, so I hope they see this!”
This year’s finalists represented a remarkable range of global creativity and impact:
Wonderful Copenhagen — “Copenpay”
BE Sydney — “Change Starts Here — Sydney 2025”
Dr. Senthil Gopinath, ICCA CEO, congratulated the winner and finalists, saying: “The Best Marketing Award is one of ICCA’s most anticipated traditions, and this year’s finalists have raised the bar once again. Each campaign reflects the creativity, resilience, and strategic thinking that define our industry. Congratulations to Visit Faroe Islands for an exceptional achievement that will inspire marketing professionals worldwide.”
The 2025 ICCA Congress in Porto gathered 1,514 participants from 81 countries, offering a dynamic, multi-venue programme designed to inspire collaboration, innovation, and sustainable growth across the global meetings and events community. Setting the record for the largest Congress ever to be held in continental Europe, the dynamic, immersive experience serves as a blueprint for future multivenue congresses, and further solidifies ICCA’s place as the global leader in global business events. The Congress has come to a close, and preparations have begun for the next global gathering in Panama City, Panama, from 8-11 November 2026. ICCA looks forward to another exciting Congress that includes members from all around the world in a collaborative and innovative event celebrating the impact and legacy of international business events.