The average daily expenditure during the stay of each congress tourist in Destination Barcelona exceeded 100€ in 2024

The Barcelona Convention Bureau has presented the results report of the Conference Market Survey 2024, carried out by GESOP. The main conclusions for Destination Barcelona of this edition are presented below:

Conference attendees’ profile

• Gender and age:In 2024, the majority of congress attendees in Destination Barcelona were, once again, men (68.2%), increasing compared to the previous year (+6.6pp). Although the average age decreased slightly (-1.1 years Var. 24/23), up to 43.7 years old, the most frequent age group was again 31-45 years old, being almost half of the surveyed (47,4%), followed by those between 46 and 60 years old (31,2%).
• Origin: The domestic market lost share of the total number of conference attendees in the Destination, dropping from 32.0% in 2023 to 23.2% in 2024. In contrast, the international market gained ground: more than half of the attendees came from other European countries (52.2%), and the intercontinental market, which saw the largest increase in presence at conferences compared to the previous year (+5.4pp), accounted for nearly 1 in 4 attendees (24.6%).
• Repeatability: On average, congress attendees had been to the congress venue city 6.2 times previously, which means a year-on-year increase, but similar to 2019 (+1 time).

Characteristics of the visit

• Travel purpose: Most of the attendees came to the meeting for professional interests (65.6%), surpassing those who came for commercial interests (32.0%).
• Transport of arrival: 4 out of 10 survey respondents stated that the fact that the conference was held in a particular municipality influenced their decision to participate. A greater influence of the municipality was observed in those attending to international congresses and in Barcelona city events.
• Mode of transport to get to the destination: The most used mode of transport to reach Destination Barcelona kept being the airplane (82.6%), which saw a significant increase in its share of use (+6.6pp Var. 24/23), at the expense of the train (11.2%, -2.4pp Var. 24/23) and the private car (5.2%, -4.6pp Var. 24/23).
• Average stay: The average stay was 4.5 days, +0.4 nights year-on-year. Attendees at international conferences and those from outside Europe had longer stays.
• Travel group and accompanying persons: 2 out of 3 came with other persons. More than half of them came with colleagues (54.0%). The average number of companions was 4.0, still significantly above 2019, when it was only 1.4, but lower than the previous year (-1.2 people Var. 24/23).

Source: Barcelona Tourism Observatory, based on Barcelona Convention Bureau and GESOP

Accommodation

• Booking method and lead time: Most of hotel bookings were made directly with the accommodation (45.4%), followed by bookings through the company or institution where the attendee worked (41.4%). The most common booking lead time remained 1 to 3 months (40.4%), although bookings made with this advance notice or longer slightly decreased, in favour of those made with less than one month in advance (+3.2pp Var. 24/23).
• Typology: 82,0% of conference attendees stayed in hotels, mostly 4-star or higher (57.8%).
• Accommodation evaluation:The stay in hotels was satisfactory for most attendees, and professionalism and service continued to be the best-rated aspects, with an average score of 4.5 and 4.4 out of 5, respectively. Although more than half rated it positively, the value for money was the aspect with the most modest score (3.9 out of 5).

The congress

• Conference inscription and booking: 4 out of 10 registered for the congress between 1 and 3 months before the event and this was done. Despite this, there is an increase in those who registered one month before the congress, at the expense of those who registered more than 6 months in advance. This registration was mostly made through the company or institution where they worked (42.0%), followed by the congress’s own website (34.8%).
• Evaluation of the congress organisation: The highest-rated aspect, once again, was the conference registration, with a score of 4.6 out of 5. Audio-visual resources and the attention from the staff at the conference venue both received scores of 4.5 out of 5. Next, the congress location, its connection to transportation, the exhibition facilities, and the scientific program all received scores of 4.4 out of 5. Catering and cafeteria services were rated the lowest, with 3.9 and 3.8 out of 5, respectively.
• Importance of sustainability and social responsibility: 3 out of 4 congress attendees placed high or considerable importance on these aspects, although this decreased compared to the previous year (-6.0pp). Attendees of national conferences and residents of Spain were the most committed in this regard, while those from the rest of Europe were the least. Attendees from other continents also showed a high level of commitment.

The host city

• Visit to the city where the conference took place: Nearly 8 out of 10 attendees visited the municipality where the congress was held during their stay, significantly higher than the previous year (+7.2pp Var. 24/23), but still below 2019, when 94.0% of respondents in Destination Barcelona reported visiting the city. Residents of Spain showed a higher proportion of congress attendees that did not visit the host city.
• Evaluation of the city of the conference: The most highly rated aspects of the conference host city were its monumental architectural offer (4.8 out of 5), cultural offer (4.7), leisure and entertainment offer (4.7), and the character and friendliness of its citizens (4.6). The lowest-rated aspects were cleanliness (3.9), air pollution (3.8), and acoustic environment (3.7).
• Internal transport: Taxis (54.8%), the metro (47.2%), ride-hailing services (such as Uber or Cabify) (18.3%), and buses (17.4%) were the most commonly used means of getting around the city. It must be highlighted that the use of metro and bus increased significantly year-on-year (+12.6pp Var. 24/23).

Expenditure

• Average expenditure:The average daily expenditure per person on accommodation was €190.06 (+11.8% Var. 24/23), €662.55 for the arrival transport (+19.5% Var. 24/23), and €611.15 for the conference registration (+1.8% Var. 24/23). In 2 out of 3 cases, these costs were covered by the attendee’s company or institution.
• Expense during the stay: Congress attendees spent an additional average of €106.66 per person per day during their stay (+25.1% Var. 24/23). The largest share of this spending went to food and dining (65.0%), followed by local transport (13.3%) and shopping (11.3%).

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The 2024 Conference Market Survey was carried out among those attending congresses held in Destination Barcelona in 2024, with the aim of achieving a better knowledge of their profile, analysing different aspects of their stay and measuring their satisfaction with the congress and the visit. The study was carried out for the first time in Barcelona city in 1993 and in Barcelona region in 2018.

Conference Market Survey 2024. Executive summary

More information: bcb@barcelonaturisme.com