Barcelona Convention Bureau (BCB) Director Christoph Tessmar has received this year’s Paul Flackett IMEX Award in recognition of his commitment to the meetings industry.
At IMEX, one of the sector’s leading fairs, the ICCA ranking was announced in which Barcelona once again confirms its position in the top 5 of the best conference cities. Barcelona closed in 2023 with 1,945 meetings (including congresses and conventions). Of these, 1,407 were corporate meetings and 538 congresses in sectors such as technology, pharmaceuticals and medicine. It received 582,198 delegates, 232,804 in conventions and 349,394 in congresses. 85.6% are delegates of international origin and 14.4% are national. The economic impact of the meetings sector in Barcelona was 1,063.24 million euros.
Tessmar’s award comes a few weeks after receiving the MICE Leader award during the MPI Iberian Awards, and a few months after being chosen as a finalist for the most influential people in the MICE (meeting tourism) industry, which is published every year. Eventex.
Christoph Tessmar has been very grateful for this new recognition that “demonstrates the leadership and positioning of Barcelona in an expanding segment.” In his opinion, this award “is the result of experience, the great joint work of the different actors involved in the sector and the intense dedication of the entire BCB team.”
For the next few years, the BCB has 150 confirmed conferences and around 100 open applications. Approximately 40% of the conferences correspond to the medical and scientific sectors. This year, in September, three of the most important medical congresses in their respective specialties will be held in Barcelona: ESCRS (15,000 delegates), ESMO (30,000 delegates) and Euretina (6,000 delegates).
It also highlights the importance of the corporate sector, which represents three out of every four meetings in the Barcelona destination. The exhibition sector is acquiring a great role in Barcelona with important fairs such as ISE or Seafood and the arrival of new events next year such as Labelexpo (40,000 visitors) and Vitafoods Europe (25,000 visitors), among others that move to Barcelona after more than 20 years in Brussels and Geneva, respectively.
The Barcelona Convention Bureau is Turisme de Barcelona’s specialized meeting tourism program that has the mission of promoting the Barcelona destination as a venue for congresses, conventions and incentive trips as well as events.