According to the aggregate data supplied by the members of the Spanish Association of Congress Centres (APCE), in 2012 they hosted a total of 4,647 events with 4,064,048 delegates, generating an overall economic impact of €1,300 million.
Based on the statistics for the financial year of 2012 provided by the convention centres belonging to APCE, the association has released a report indicating that these venues hosted a total of 405 congresses with 574,813 delegates, in addition to 252 conventions, with 287,578 delegates, and 1,132 meetings, with 391,272 attendees. The economic impact generated directly and indirectly by this activity is estimated to be in the region of €1,300 million.
One of the main conclusions that can be drawn from the study is the increase of delegates per meeting in 2012, above all as regards congresses. This increase mainly stems from the greater number of delegates attending events, above all as a result of the marketing efforts of some of the member centres, especially on an international level, since more than half of the congress and convention delegates came from abroad in 2012.
Generally speaking, although the majority of the centres have apparently maintained the same level of activity with respect to the year before, overall attendance figures are up by 4%, due to the greater number of congress delegates registered at some of the centres.
With regard to event scope, generally speaking there have not been any significant changes with respect to 2011: 76% of congresses and 56% of conventions were of a national or international nature, while over 80% of all delegates taking part in these types of events were from other parts of Spain or abroad. Nevertheless, the number of international convention delegates has indeed increased significantly from 30 to 51%.
It is important to stress that this increase in the number of international delegates has also led to a greater economic impact in 2012.
Spanish convention centres generate an economic impact of €1,300 million in 2012
