Latest News
HomeMICE IndustryBusiness TravelCongresses held in Prague bring annually up to 200m. euro to public budgets
MICE

Congresses held in Prague bring annually up to 200m. euro to public budgets

Based on KPMG’s analysis, the performance of Prague’s tourism business, of which a key part is the meeting industry, represented roughly 1.3 billion euro in 2016, which is about one third of the Czech Republic’s overall performance.

PRAGUE – Meeting industry in Prague, which is an industry associated with organizing congresses, conferences, corporate meetings and incentive events, generates in multiplication an annual income of between 170 and 200 million euro to public budgets. According to the new KPMG study prepared for the Prague Convention Bureau, only 3,9% – between 6.5 and 7.5 million Euro of the sum – will return to Prague's budget.

Based on KPMG's analysis, the performance of Prague's tourism business, of which a key part is the meeting industry, represented roughly 1.3 billion euro in 2016, which is about one third of the Czech Republic's overall performance. At the same time, it is also 6 to 7% of the economic performance of the capital, which makes tourism one of the most important economic sectors in Prague. Meeting industry accounts for 1.1% of Prague's GDP, solely to the tourism industry it is for 15%.

Unlike leisure tourism, the meeting industry is severalfold more profitable in terms of the amounts of money international congress participants spend. On average, a congress delegate coming from abroad spends 218 euro, which is four to five times more than the expenses of a usual visitor. Total revenues from the meeting industry, including sales to the local participants, reach up to billion euro in multiplication.

"The meeting industry, however, brings not just billions to public budgets, but it also creates specific jobs. In Prague this means roughly 5,470 full-time jobs, which is 5.5% of the total employment in tourism in the metropolis," says Ondrej Spacek, KPMG expert on tourism. Meeting industry in the Czech capital has also predispositions for further growth. According to data from the Czech Statistical Office, 2016 was a year when the highest number of events in the last 10 years took place in Prague. "Prague, definitely, has a lot to offer to the event organizers," adds Roman Muska, Director of the Prague Convention Bureau, and he continues: "In addition to the rich history, there is, above all, easy access to the city, and the city ‘s capacities. You can fly to Prague directly from 162 international destinations, and stay at one of the 795 hotels offering nearly 92,000 beds. According to the 2012 area comprehensive statistical census of the meetings and incentive tourism executed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism, Prague offers 243 conference facilities with a total capacity of over 169,000 persons."

Popularity of Prague is also confirmed by statistics of the International Congress Association ICCA. In the popularity ranking of the world congress destinations, annually published by the association, the Czech capital has long been maintaining its position around the 10th place. According to the Prague Convention Bureau statistics, most delegates arrive to Prague from Great Britain, Germany and the United States. The most discussed topics are pharmacy and healthcare, industry and, last but not least, IT and telecommunications.

News Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | + Posts

Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.

28/03/2024
27/03/2024
26/03/2024
25/03/2024
22/03/2024