Catalonia
Meet Catalunya 2024 – Green edition – homage to sustainability
IMPROVING SUSTAINABILITY IS KEY TO FUTURE PROOFING CATALONIA AS A BUSINESS EVENTS DESTINATION , CCB DIRECTOR SÒNIA SERRACARBASSA TOLD DELEGATES AT ITS BIENNIAL NETWORKING EVENT , MEET CATALUNYA 2024 . SIMON GEORGE REPORTS
T he colour green in all its shades was very evident during Meet Catalunya 2024 – Green edition , a MICE workshop / networking event hosted by the Catalan Tourist Board and Catalunya Convention Bureau ( CCB ). From the Catalan countryside which was looking much greener after a wet spring helped to replenish dangerously low reservoir levels , to the emphasis on sustainability at the three hotel site inspections in Barcelona , Green was the name of the programme . Mention should also be made of the event ’ s official launch host , the 5-star Hotel Camiral , whose immaculate putting surfaces on its PGA golf course are enough to make any golfer green with envy !
Sustainability key to future-proofing events Attended by over 75 event professionals and 87 Catalan companies , and incorporating some 1,500 business meetings , Meet Catalunya 2024 ’ s three-day programme , which began at the Hotel Camiral in Girona and ended in Barcelona , showcased the rich variety of opportunities the region has to offer for business events , while placing special emphasis on the importance of sustainability .
In her presentation at the event , CCB director Sònia Serracarbassa singled out the importance of sustainability in future-proofing the business events industry . Presentations were made by local convention
Right : Sònia Serracarbassa on stage
Left : Agents check out the Catalan conference scene bureaux at the official launch and low-cost carrier Vueling explained its plan to transition to sustainable aviation fuel . Protecting the environment was front and centre of our three hotel site inspections in Barcelona : the recently opened 4-star Tembo , Labtwentytwo Barcelona , part of Marriott Group , which opened in December 2023 , and the 5-star Intercontinental which gave us a short PowerPoint presentation on the theme . Our group ’ s guided walking tour of 22 @, a smart city / innovation district led by an architectural expert later highlighted how sustainability is be-fture . euing used to improve mobility and regenerate previously run-down industrial areas in Barcelona , for which the 1992 summer Olympics proved so transformational .
Sustainability lies at the heart of BEFuture , an EU-funded programme that aims to transform Europe ’ s business events sector through sustainability , inclusivity and resilience ( for more details go to https :// be-future . eu ).
Sònia Serracarbassa elaborated on Catalonia ’ s / Spain ’ s own participation in the programme , which was launched in September 2023 with € 4m funding in partnership with five other EU members ( Germany , France , Italy , Belgium and the Netherlands ) and is scheduled to be completed in April 2026 . A White Paper highlighting the programme ’ s findings will be published in the autumn and presented at IBTM in November .
“ We are exploring how the new
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