The Catalan capital will close 2023 having hosted 450 congresses. The figure is close to that of 2022, when 466 were registered. This year will also end with about 100 confirmed meetings for the coming years.
The Barcelona Convention Bureau (BCB), of Turisme de Barcelona, is working with more than 150 candidacies for the future. Some of these are from congresses that have been held in the city previously, while others are opting for the city for the first time.
Among the relevant congresses planned for 2024 are ESMO, with more than 30,000 delegates to address medical oncology. They also include the ECCMID clinical microbiology congress, with 15,000 delegates, as well as events organized by Fira de Barcelona annually, such as the Smart City Expo World Congress, held with 25,000 delegates at the beginning of November.
Three out of four events held in Barcelona within the framework of meeting tourism correspond to conventions of companies and corporations. An example of this corporate market is the McDonald's Corporation Worldwide, which will be held in April in Barcelona. This is the first time it has been convened outside the United States, and expects an attendance of 15,000 people.
Precisely this Wednesday, IBTM World, the main global event for the organization of meetings, incentives, conferences and events tourism, will be inaugurated. The fair, which has renewed its contract with Barcelona as its venue until 2025, will bring together some 12,000 professionals from the sector.
A total of 47 companies will participate in IBTM World, which will bring together some 12,000 professionals from the sector47 companies will participate in the event, including hotels, transport companies, venues and institutions. With this event, Barcelona "becomes the international center of the sector", according to the director of the BCB, Christoph Tessmar. According to him, the forecasts for the event and the annual number of congresses demonstrate "Barcelona's undisputed leadership in this sector."