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Spanish cities accelerate to gain weight in congress tourism

Date: March 29, 2024 Time: 14:03:09

In the year before the pandemic, 2019, tourism for meetings, congresses and conventions, known as MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions & Exhibitions), generated more than 7,000 million direct euros in Spain with an impact on the economy of more than 14 billion a year. Four million tourists and up to 6% of tourist income. Spain as a country and the almost sixty cities that are part of the Spain Convention Bureau, an organization of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), hope to return to pre-pandemic figures this year, with the aim that in one or two years Congress tourism accounts for close to 10% of tourism revenue.

For now, the recent International Tourism Fair (FITUR) has broken almost all records with regard to attendance, participation and media coverage achieved. Thus, this edition, which took place between January 18 and 22 at IFEMA Madrid, has registered more than 222,000 attendees, which represents a growth of 68% compared to the figure obtained in 2022 and very close to the record of 250,000. of 2019 Tourists who, to get an idea of ​​the economic impact it generates, have made 516,800 meals outside hotels, with a total cost, only in restaurants during the fair, of just over 23 million euros, according to the figures provided this same week by AMER

And it is that, according to the data offered by the International Association of Congresses and Conventions (ICCA for its acronym in English), Spain had already climbed a position in the world ranking just before the pandemic, placing itself in third place. In 2019, a total of 595 international events were held in our country, a figure only surpassed by the United States and Germany, which means that Spain had already managed to overtake the United Kingdom.

By cities, Madrid and Barcelona, ​​figures for 2019, occupied the third and fourth position in the world ranking of congresses, with 165 and 163 congresses respectively. The capital of Spain thus managed to advance four places compared to a year earlier. A classification that makes it clear that Spain is the only country with two cities in the ‘top 5’ and this without counting that Valencia, Seville and Bilbao also improve positions.

The commitment of the sector and of the almost sixty Spanish cities involved in congress and convention tourism is determined and clear. Not surprisingly, this type of tourism moves close to 280 million people a year around the world and, furthermore, in the Spanish case, it serves to seasonally adjust the traditional offer of sun and sand. Likewise, there is another piece of information that makes this tourist space attractive for the sector: according to official statistics, congress tourists spend between 25% and 50% more than summer tourists.

In this firm commitment to MICE tourism, an important milestone has been produced this last week, such as the first approval of the Madrid City Council, there is still the final one that can be produced in the coming weeks, to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism for the reform of the emblematic Palacio de Congresos de Madrid, the one with the iconic mural by Joan Miró. The space, located in front of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and next to Paseo de la Castellana, has been closed since 2012 and from 2024 it will be the headquarters of the World Tourism Organization.

With this emblematic space restored in a few months, Spain increases its offer and the organizers of congresses and events can choose “among more than 40 conference centers and convention centers. Some of them are very contemporary and authentic samples of avant-garde architecture, such as the Kurssal in San Sebastián, or venues by world-famous architects, such as Norman Foster (Valencia) or Santiago Calatrava (Oviedo and A Coruña)”, they point out from the Spain Convention Bureau. The offer of meeting venues is complemented by a multitude of auditoriums, multifunction venues, fairgrounds and other unconventional or alternative meeting venues, such as universities, schools, museums, municipal buildings, sports centers and other unique venues.

But, without a doubt, where Spain stands out and takes advantage of MICE tourism is in its “varied and renovated hotel portfolio. The country has more than 16,000 hotels of internationally recognized quality. The accommodation offer in the cities is mainly 4 and 5 star hotels and the entire sector makes more than 350,000 beds available to the market.” In addition, among the hotel offer of Spain Convention Bureau, it is worth highlighting, due to its speciality, the Paradores network. Ninety unique and charming hotels distributed throughout the country. Strategically located in castles, monasteries or palaces, which can create the perfect atmosphere for meetings and corporate events.”

Likewise, the recently held FITUR fair has been a good example of how cities have thrown in the rest in their commitment to MICE tourism. Thus, Seville announced that it will host the European and Ibero-American space summits in autumn after that of the Spanish Space Agency in the Seville capital and the city will expand professional events linked to the aerospace industry and other strategic sectors for the city as announced by its mayor, Antonio Munoz.

Malaga is also in fashion when it comes to organizing fairs and congresses and this year has been “spectacular” for the sector in the city. The Councilor for Tourism of the Malaga City Council, Jacobo Florido, explained last week that the capital of the Costa del Sol has held 440 congresses, events and meetings in 2022, which represents an increase of 44% compared to 2019. Congresses a which have been attended by 118,151 people with an average cost in the destination of 320 euros per person per day between hotel, transport, meals… so the direct impact for Malaga would exceed 90 million euros.

Benidorm, the paradigm of the sun and beach offer in Spain, will host, from February 23 to 25, the 35th OPC Spain Congress. An appointment that will bring together around 200 professionals from the organization of congresses and events in the city. The mayor of the Alicante town, Toni Pérez, points out that “having this congress event is an opportunity to strengthen our position in the MICE segment and to make our destination and wide tourist offer known precisely to the professionals who are in charge of organizing and events throughout the national territory.

The mayor considers that “in addition to being a leader and benchmark in sun and sand, our destination is increasingly and better positioned in other tourist segments such as MICE tourism, with an offer that has not stopped growing, both in spaces and in resources public and private. Benidorm has more and more spaces and hotel rooms focused on congress tourism, which constitutes a very interesting segment due to its deseasonalizing potential and the tourist spending it generates.”

But it is that a city in the interior and far from the usual tourist circuits like León also intends, as an example, to eat a slice of this congress tourism cake. Thus, only in the first half of 2022, the Leonese capital received around 9,000 participants in the almost thirty congresses that were held and that left 8.5 million euros in the city. And it is that MICE tourism is, without a doubt, one of the great bets of the sector in Spain.

* This website provides news content gathered from various internet sources. It is crucial to understand that we are not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented Read More

Puck Henry
Puck Henry
Puck Henry is an editor for ePrimefeed covering all types of news.
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