Destinations · Compare
Two cities, side by side, on the things that actually decide it.
Not weather and photographs. Airlift for your delegate origins, hotel capacity under one roof, transfer times at the real arrival hour, the season, and the local calendar constraint nobody mentions until you have signed.
Pick two cities
Any of the 46 playbooks, in either column.
Asia PacificTYOTokyoExceptional venues and service, and a market where preparation and protocol are rewarded.
EuropeLISLisbonCongress capacity, good value by western European standards, and a city that flatters a programme.Tokyo Exceptional venues and service, and a market where preparation and protocol are rewarded.
Lisbon Congress capacity, good value by western European standards, and a city that flatters a programme.
At a glance
Region
Asia Pacific
Europe
Airport
TYO
LIS
Time zone
GMT+9
GMT / WEST
Positioning
Precision, and a supply chain that shares your standards
Europe’s fastest-rising congress city
Operating notes
Access and airlift
Haneda (HND) is close to the city and Narita (NRT) serves long-haul volume. Visa-free entry for many nationalities.
Humberto Delgado (LIS) has strong European coverage plus Americas and Africa links; the airport is unusually close to the city.
Hotels
Excellent across categories, though large single-property blocks are harder than in other Asian capitals.
Good quality and value, but capacity is the constraint in peak weeks.
Ground
Rail is superb and usually preferable to coaches for city movements. Coach access and parking in central Tokyo needs planning.
Short transfers and an easy city to move around. Hills and narrow old-town streets restrict coach access in places.
Season
Spring and autumn are ideal and heavily booked. Golden Week and the New Year period effectively close the business calendar.
April to June and September to October are best. Major congress weeks remove hotel availability entirely.
Fit, venues and constraints
Best for
- Technical and industrial conferences
- Exhibitions with a Japanese buyer audience
- Executive and partner programmes
- Incentive programmes with cultural depth
- Association and scientific congresses
- Technology conferences
- Incentive programmes and offsites
- European sales and partner meetings
Principal venues
- Tokyo Big Sight
- Tokyo International Forum
- Makuhari Messe
- Pacifico Yokohama
- Marunouchi and Roppongi hotel ballrooms
- Centro de Congressos de Lisboa
- FIL — Feira Internacional de Lisboa
- Altice Arena
- Estoril Congress Center
- Palácio and quinta venues in Sintra and Cascais
Watch out for
- Bilingual delivery is a requirement, including signage and staffing
- Golden Week and New Year remove supplier availability entirely
- Decisions and approvals take longer — start earlier
- Large single-hotel room blocks are constrained
- Hotel capacity is the binding constraint — book blocks very early
- Old-town venues have real access and load-in limits
- Peak-week rates rise steeply
- Estoril and Cascais add transfer time that is easy to underestimate
Still torn between two cities? Give us the delegate origins.
Airlift and visa position for your actual nationalities usually settles it in a day. Send the audience breakdown and the date window and we will come back with a recommendation and the reasoning.
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