The conclusions presented at the First Virtual Meeting of the MICE Forum point to a recovery in the second half of the year, while the weight of MICE in the Spanish economy is claimed.
On April 1st, the I Foro MICE Virtual Meeting took place, replacing the COVID19 health crisis with the face-to-face meeting that was to take place on March 11th, precisely before the activation in Spain of the state of alarm that forces confinement. Institutional representatives, from the sector's reference agencies and a total of 600 professionals contributed data and reflections on the present and future of the industry.
The Iberian chapter of MPI collected from September 10 to 27 data related to 1,130 professional events that were cancelled or postponed, mostly in Barcelona and Madrid (in this order). Alessia Comis, president of the chapter, explained that 26% of those surveyed were agencies, 14% were DMCs, 5% were convention centres, 8% were hotels and 12% were PPOs). Comis was optimistic that activity would pick up in September given the postponements.
This impression was corroborated by the results of another survey carried out during the MICE Forum among the sector's attendees: it is expected that activity will resume in September, with mainly national events serving as the driving force for the sector's new start-up. It is expected that most of the participants will not be afraid to travel to attend their events, as 58% of those surveyed consider. In terms of travel and event generating industries, it is expected that medical congresses, operations linked to the automotive sector and events linked to the Public Administration will be the first to occupy new dates.
Andrés Virto, Vice President of AEVEA (Spanish Association of Events Agencies) and Director of Madison Experience Marketing, claimed the weight of the MICE sector in the Spanish economy, estimated at 11,000 million euros in 2019.
"Flexibility and versatility are inherent characteristics of the MICE sector," explained Matilde Almandoz, president of the MICE Forum and OPC Spain, who claimed that public authorities demonstrate as far as possible similar qualities when contributing to the necessary recovery of the sector.
Credits https://puntomice.com/el-mice-espanol-confia-en-retomar-en-septiembre/