Meetings tourism has brought over 3,000,000 visitors to the city of Barcelona in the past 20 years, according…
Meetings tourism has brought over 3,000,000 visitors to the city of Barcelona in the past 20 years, according to figures from the Barcelona Convention Bureau (BCB). The congress, convention and incentive travel market has grown by 500% over the two decades since the BCB was founded. The 50,000 delegates in 1984 had increased to 281,078 in 2003. In 2002 the city attracted 300,000 visitors when it hosted macromeetings such as the World Aids Congress and the Rotary World Congress. Over the past two decades, business tourism has generated over 12,000,000 overnights. The BCB is the Turisme de Barcelona programme which works in order to attract professional meetings to the Catalan capital.
In recent years, Barcelona has become a benchmark for international business tourism. According to data provided by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), the Catalan capital has the largest portfolio of international congresses of any city in the world. Over the last 20 years, the number of congresses hosted in Barcelona has increased from 150 in 1984, to 1,363 in 2002, and 1,104 in 2003.
The meetings market is one of the main sub segments of tourism activities in the city. Congresses, conventions and incentives currently have an economic impact of 350 million euros on the city, whereas, 20 years ago, the economic repercussions of meetings only generated 18 million euros. Today, 35% of this total economic volume is generated as a result of the work of the BCB.
The BCB has developed an active working method in order to position Barcelona as a major benchmark for the meetings market. During 20 years of work, the BCB has invited some 3,000 specialised agents from around the world to discover Barcelona`s range of facilities, attractions and infrastructures. It also aims to attract meetings and delegates to the city and has made contact with 20,000 professionals in the sector, and has also visited 49 countries.
International involvement
Beyond its purely promotional activities, the work of the BCB stands out due to its degree of involvement with the major international associations in the sector.
For the past two years, the general manager of Turisme de Barcelona, Pere Duran, has held the post of president of the Executive Committee of the European Federation of Congress Cities, with its headquarters in Brussels. The manager of the BCB, Airy Garrigosa, is currently its vice-president. Garrigosa was also the president of category D of the ICCA for four years, which includes over 150 convention bureaux from around the world.
The manager of the BCB says that the coming years will be decisive for business tourism: Following the excellent position Barcelona has achieved, good future prospects are opening up for the city in this sector. The opening of the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB) and the city`s hosting of the most important exhibition in the meetings market, the EIBTM, are two magnificent tools which will increase activity in Barcelona and its level of competitiveness
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
