The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first (in a tie with Vancouver, Canada) for the world’s most livable cities. For four consecutive years, the human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Vienna first in its annual”Quality of Living” survey of hundreds of cities around the world. The city was ranked 1st globally for its culture of innovation, and fifth globally in the Innovation Cities Index, which analyzed 162 indicators in covering three areas: culture, infrastructure and markets. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is often used as a case study by urban planners. Each year Vienna has been the world’s number one destination for international congresses and conventions. It attracts about five million tourists a year.