MICE tourism worth almost €1.5 billion for Barcelona

The year closed with a total of 579,855 delegates at congresses, conventions and seminars, a figure that is practically the same as the previous year’s. The most significant events were the Mobile World Congress (87,000 delegates) and the European Cardiology Congress (30,500), followed by the 24th Edition of the  European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (10,000) and the EWEA Annual Meeting.

80% of all delegates opted for hotel accommodation, mostly in 4 and 5 star establishments. Congresses last for an average of 2 to 3 days, although delegates tend to stay in the city for an average of 5 days, indicating that they take advantage of these extra days to visit and enjoy the city. The number of delegates extending their stay by two days ranks amongst the highest in recent years.

Average daily spend in the city is 140 euros (excluding accommodation). More than half of this amount corresponds to food. Indeed, one of the factors visitors value most highly is the outstanding value for money offered by the city’s bars and restaurants, with an excellent global score of 4.7 out of 5. As for getting around the city, 53% use public transport (mainly the metro) and 40% by taxi. The number of delegates travelling by metro and bus has risen steadily amongst congress delegates, relegating taxis to second place.

The services provided by the Barcelona Convention Bureau (BCB), which are known to 62.5% of the presidents of congresses held in Barcelona, obtained a score of 4.42 out of five, the highest in recent years.

Barcelona Convention Bureau is Turisme de Barcelona’s specialized professional meetings programme that promotes the city as a destination for congresses, conventions and incentive trips. Created in 1983 and a pioneer in Spain, BCB offers advisory and planning services to all those companies that want to organize a professional meeting in the city.

Contact information
Noemí Rosell
Tel: +34 933 689 720