Head of the Barcelona Convention Bureau is delighted that the city hosted the PCMA Europe, Middle East and Africa conference with record numbers of 636 on-site attendees. This is a significant increase from last year’s event in Copenhagen, which attracted 550 attendees, almost three times the number of PCMA European Influencer Summit 2019. Also held in Barcelona.
However, this was just one of 28 meetings held in the city in September, not to mention likely many more corporate meetings that remain unaccounted for. ,” Tesma said.
At the same time, the America’s Cup puts the city in front of millions of viewers on television and online, giving sailing enthusiasts an extra reason to visit Catalonia’s capital. Tesma said the competition transformed both of the city’s ports. Attracting participation in the America’s Cup requires significant financial investment from Spain, Catalonia and municipalities. He feels it’s worth it, not because of the potential increase in visitor numbers, but because it helps showcase a different side of the city.
Popular destinations
Barcelona has long been a favorite among planners, regularly topping Cvent’s destination rankings and ICCA’s association conference rankings. At the end of each year, the city hosts one of the industry’s major trade shows – IBTM World. It also regularly hosts the prestigious Mobile World Congress Barcelona (formerly Mobile World Congress), which attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year. MWC Barcelona will remain in place until at least 2030, with automatic two-year renewals in the coming years.
Barcelona’s impressive conference facilities have convinced conference organizers to relocate large conferences from other European cities. The ISE Audiovisual Show has moved from Amsterdam, the ICE Games Show has moved from London, and Seafood Expo Global has moved from Brussels. Next year, Vitafoods will Label Expo moves from Geneva to other locations From Brussels.
Each conference attracts more than 50,000 attendees and more than 1 million square feet of exhibit space. Above all, they both want to grow in Barcelona. These multi-year contracts will generate millions of dollars in revenue for the city, particularly its venues and hotels.
The challenge of overtourism
The city’s cultural appeal also brings challenges, with overtourism making headlines around the world. While other destinations are keen to boost tourism revenue, Barcelona is so popular that residents don’t shy away from it.
The city is looking for solutions to what it considers unwelcome tourism. One of the main unpopular groups is the noisy tourists staying in low-cost short-term rentals.
Tesma believes this is a sustainability issue that goes well beyond discussions of recycling and minimizing the carbon footprint of events. “Our goal is to communicate better because there is a lack of communication to explain the benefits [of business tourism]”.
He and his team sat with local community representatives from the municipality and tourism and local environment committees. “It’s really hard to find that balance but we’re working on it, we’re working on it and these meetings are the best way to connect with the local community.”
One of the results of these conversations was the decision to ban short-term rentals in Barcelona starting in 2028, which is a good decision for Tessmar. The right way.
Elitism is also a problem
Business travel, including meetings and conferences, has long been recognized as high value, and Tesma is working with local communities to demonstrate the benefits to guests. Still, a problem that is not easy to solve is that high-value tourism must be supported by high-end hotels and luxury services, which can lead to higher living costs and alienate residents.
While restaurants work hard to market their dining options and rooftop bars to locals, Tesma admits this elitist perception is a serious challenge. “Our goal is to communicate better because there is a lack of communication to explain the benefits [of business tourism]”.
Focus on the positive impact of the meeting
Tesma assured that reducing the event’s carbon footprint was one of many things the venue was considering, but the Barcelona Convention Bureau was not actively promoting the measure. Instead, conversations with clients increasingly focus on impact and legacy.
Tessmar highlighted the recent ESMO Congress 2024, the largest oncology congress in Europe, which attracted a record attendance of more than 33,000 people. Beyond the numbers, the Congress also hosted several clinical trials in Barcelona that could improve patients’ quality of life.
Another highlight is Barcelona’s Parkinson’s Ready Program 2023, a legacy of the 6th World Parkinson Congress held in July 2023. This initiative used the knowledge of Parkinson’s disease specialists attending the congress to help 310 public-facing and customer service staff to improve their understanding of Parkinson’s disease.
Barcelona Tourism will soon launch a heritage and impact study, which Tesma sees as an important document demonstrating the city’s commitment to ensuring that business tourism has a positive impact.
The future of Barcelona
As the Barcelona Convention Bureau celebrates its 40th anniversary, Tessmar ensures that the conversation with potential clients is no longer about Barcelona’s wonderful climate and tourist attractions, nor the number of hotel rooms and conference spaces. They are designed to increase participation and add value to organizers and cities.
Legacy is also something Tesma is thinking about as he enters the final stages of his career. The German leader of the organization for nearly 13 years wants to be remembered for shifting the conversation from digital to heritage and even addressing the challenge of overtourism. “Hopefully we can address the image of overtourism, poor tourism, so that Barcelona is not always in the headlines. That would be a dream.
