Barcelona tops list of event planners’ destinations
Research by aviation consultants PRO SKY finds Europe’s meeting organisers are heading for Spain
Latin fever is sweeping the events industry, according to the results of a survey of the hottest destinations for 2014.
More than 160 meeting planners from across Europe were quizzed by aviation consultants PRO SKY about their top cities and countries around the world – and Barcelona, and Spain, have topped the poll.
When asked which European countries were particularly relevant to their projects this year, 54 per cent of event organisers picked Spain, while Germany secured second place with 41 per cent of replies (multiple entries were possible). Other southern European destinations followed: Portugal, Italy and France with 35 per cent.
And this trend is reflected in the choice of cities: half of respondents are planning an event in Barcelona in 2014. Berlin was in second place with 36 per cent, but London was not far behind with a third of votes. Lisbon (32 per cent) and Paris (31 per cent) rounded out the top five.
Tony Anagor, CEO of Barcelona-based Lifestyle DMC, was unsurprised by the results after seeing a rise of interest at the start of 2014.
“They reflect what we have been seeing over the last 10 years,” he said. “We have seen a 30 per cent increase in enquiries for the first quarter of the year compare to last year, with a surge from India and China.
“Barcelona works very hard to continually find ways to express itself in a fun and creative way. This can be seen by the wide range of fairs, exhibitions and conferences being held every year.
“The unique thing about Barcelona is that it fits the profile of a perfect tourist destination with its network of hotels and attractions whilst also ticking all of the boxes of a MICE destination complete with convention
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