Turisme Comunitat Valenciana will continue to promote one of the tourism products with the “best” forecast for 2022, MICE tourism aimed at business trips, congresses and incentives.
In this way, the department plans to carry out in 2022 a plan to promote the Valencian Community as a MICE tourism destination, which includes 15 different actions to be developed at the national level and in the main European markets.
The objective, according to the regional secretary for Tourism, Francesc Colomer, is to “promote this product as a sector that has a notable drag effect, both in other products and in numerous destinations in the Valencian Community”.
Likewise, he has indicated that the plan will contribute “notably to the seasonal adjustment and to the increase in the average expenditure per tourist”, two of the strategic objectives of the Community’s tourism policy.
Colomer has commented that the Region has “the best equipment for all kinds of calls and professional events.”
He has also made reference to the offer that this product encompasses, “from a balanced network of fairgrounds, auditoriums and conference centres, to a wide range of hotels and complementary services, which make it the ideal place to host congresses and national and international fairs “.
The head of Turisme has commented on the support provided by the development of the business tourism plan for this sector, which continues to be “highly affected by the consequences of the pandemic and by the characteristics of its activity.”
However, it has stated that, according to the latest data recorded, the demand for MICE tourism is also recovering relatively quickly. In fact, in the first quarter of 2021, the meetings segment has increased by close to 70% year-on-year in the Valencian Community, while it still decreases by 34% compared to 2019.
The figures prior to the pandemic, place the Valencian Community as the fourth national destination in congress trips, fairs and conventions with 1.7 million annual tourists in 2019, the year in which foreign demand was at the maximum of the series .
Characteristics of the MICE tourism plan
The MICE plan promoted by Turisme Comunitat Valenciana and agreed with the Convention Bureaux and the main associations in the sector, includes a total of 15 promotional actions specifically aimed at MICE and aimed at the national market and the main European markets.
It also includes the preparation of a MICE guide for the Valencian Community that will collect and jointly present the sector’s offer, as well as updating the section for MICE tourism within the Turisme promotional website, among other actions.
On the other hand, the plan also includes a series of measures for the promotion of the Valencian Community as a MICE destination, both with the participation with its own spaces in some of the main MICE fairs and events of 2022, as well as the IMEX fairs that are planned to held in Frankfurt at the end of next April or IBTM WORLD, which will take place in Barcelona next November.
Finally, highlight the upcoming celebration of events such as the Iberian Mice Forum that will take place in Benidorm or the meeting with French MICE operators in Valencia that will take place at the end of spring next year.
This roadmap incorporates, in collaboration with Turespaña and the various convention bureaux, the realisation of familiarisation trips for MICE operators in markets such as the Dutch, British or French, as well as participation in roadshows and meetings with MICE operators in markets such as the German or Italian.
