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What is the significance of business events to the city of Barcelona ? Barcelona is a tourist hotspot , for sure , yet the fact that we are successful with business events also means we have a certain quality in our offer . This brings a big economic impact as well as a significant legacy effect .
We work more closely than ever with local economic clusters and have been successful connecting them up with the big events like Integrated Systems Europe and the Mobile World Congress .
We are attracting large medical events because of the significant medical community in Barcelona and the number of doctors and hospitals . Our researchers in this field are also presenting at global conferences .
The great infrastructure makes organising events in Barcelona easy . The airport is close to the city centre , as are the convention centres and there is a high level of professionalism in the sector with all stakeholders working together as one team to deliver effective events .
Our CVB strategy is not to immediately point to the typical topics one associates with Barcelona , such as the Mediterranean culture , climate or food . We focus first on the needs of the client and how we can work together to make the meeting a success . At a later step we can bring in the destination attractions and added value .
Hosting the PCMA Convening EMEA conference in 2024 will be big , right ? PCMA Convening EMEA is next year and we will be offering full support , with the focus on doing things
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differently .
We are one of the most important start-up hubs in Europe and will be showing off our ‘ Barcelona Tech ’ a non-profit initiative driven by the main technological entrepreneurs in the city . We will involve them in the PCMA conference .
Barcelona is also working hard on becoming a hub for the ‘ Blue ’ economy and the port is involved with that and with PCMA . It won ’ t be just about speakers explaining , but a collaborative programme involving our local clusters . We expect more than 600 attendees at our CCIB venue for PCMA .
Out-of-the-box sessions will also be showcasing many interesting things that take place in Barcelona and give a taste of what is really going on .
How do you work with your local partners ? Firstly , we work with the hotels on rates and they really do understand the importance of this to the meetings industry . We always have to have an eye on the future . Our clients tend to return , but if rates are set too high they may not do that .
During the Mobile Congress one local butcher said he did as much business as he usually did in one month during that event , so many businesses benefit from the major events , not just ones connected to our industry .
Among the help we can offer is the T-Event public transport pass for delegates to explore the city . It is simply not sustainable having buses going to and from the venue all day .
We try to do joint projects with organisers , many of whom understand it
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Above : Christoph Tessmar , director of Barcelona Convention Bureau |
is not only about bringing X number of people in , but about building something in the city .
At the 2019 Mobile World Congress there was a demonstration of the first remote surgery using 5G technology to connect to a hospital in Israel .
Many new treatments have come out of our medical conferences and when you bring 30,000 doctors to the city and they talk about the future of cancer or cardiology , the results can benefit the whole world . In terms of the key sectors in Barcelona for conferencing , I would list technology , tourism , the food sector and the medical sector above others .
How does the CVB work to ensure that events leave a positive legacy ? We have created a sustainability guide to events and promote legacy projects . We had a wonderful project with the World Parkinson Congress this July , using our public transport app to inform people how to understand Parkinson patients ’ behaviour .
We are pushing importance of certifications also in the sustainability arena . n
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