The Barcelona Convention Bureau has presented the results report of the Congress Market Survey 2023, carried out by GESOP. This is the second edition of this study after the pandemic. The main conclusions of this edition are presented below:

Congress attendees’ profile

• Gender and age: In 2023, the majority of congress attendees in Destination Barcelona were, once again, men (61.6%), although the proportion of women increased compared to the previous year (+5.1pp). The average age remained fairly stable at 43.7 years and the most frequent age group was again 31-45 years, despite losing weight compared to the previous year (from 46.3% to 42.0%), in favour of those under 30, which increased slightly.
• Origin: Half of the congress participants came from other European countries. Both the domestic market, which continued to lead the ranking of participants (32.0%), and the intercontinental market (19.2%), increased their presence in the congresses compared to the previous year (+4.3pp and +2.2pp, respectively).
• Repeatability: On average, congress attendees had been to the congress venue city 5.2 times previously, which means a year-on-year decrease, but similar to 2019.

Characteristics of the visit

• Travel purpose: Most of the attendees came to the meeting for professional interests (71.8%), still far from 2019 (92.3%).
• Transport of arrival: The most common means of transport used to reach Destination Barcelona continued to be the plane (76.0%), although the use of air travel in Barcelona city was much higher than in Barcelona region (81.5% vs. 54.0%), where the car was much more common than in Barcelona city (30.0% vs. 4.8%).
• Average stay: In Destination Barcelona, the average stay returned to pre-pandemic levels (4.1 days), shorter than the previous year, with the length of stay in Barcelona city being higher than in the region (4.2 nights vs. 3.6 nights).
• Travel group and accompanying persons: 2 out of 3 came accompanied. Of these, half came with work colleagues. The average number of companions was 5.2, still well above 2019, when it was only 1.4.
• Other trips: 28.6% of congress attendees made other trips beforem, during or after the congress on the occasion. Of these, a quarter stated that their destination was Catalonia.

Mercat congressual_en.png

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 (41.4%), quite ahead of the previous year, when bookings made by the company the attendees worked for were the most frequent. The most common advance booking period was again 1 to 3 months (42.4%).
• Typology: Over 80% of congress attendees stayed in hotels, mainly four-star hotels (63.2%).
• Accommodation evaluation: Hotel stays were satisfactory for most of congress participants, and professionalism and treatment were the most highly rated aspects, with an average score of 4.4 out of 5 in both cases. Accommodation in Barcelona region received slightly higher scores than accommodation in Barcelona city.

The congress

• Congress inscription and booking: 4 out of 10 registered for the congress between 1 and 3 months before the event and this was done, almost equally, through the company or institution where they worked (35.6%), through the organisation of the meeting (34.8%) or through the congress website (29.4%).
• Evaluation of the congress organisation: The most highly rated aspects were the congress registration and the audio-visual facilities (4.5 out of 5 in both cases). The customer service provided by the congress venue staff was rated 4.4 out of 5, while transport connections were rated 4.2 out of 5. The catering and cafeteria services were the lowest rated (3.8 out of 5).
• Importance of sustainability and social responsibility: 8 out of 10 congress attendees considered these aspects to be very or quite important, a slight increase compared to the previous year (+3.6pp). Attendees at national congresses and residents in Spain were the most committed to these aspects, while those from the rest of Europe were the least.

The city of the venue

• Visit to the city where the congress took place: 7 out of 10 visited the municipality where the congress was held during their stay, significantly lower than in 2019, when 94.0% of those surveyed said they had.
• Evaluation of the city of the congress: The most highly rated aspects of the host city were the cultural offer (4.7 out of 5), the architectural/monumental offer (4.7 out of 5), the leisure/entertainment offer (4.5 out of 5) and the character/friendliness of the local people (4.5 out of 5). In contrast, the lowest scores were given to aspects such as cleanliness (3.9 out of 5), air pollution (3.7 out of 5) and noise (3.6 out of 5). In general, there are no major differences in the ratings of the aspects compared to the previous year.
• Internal transport: Taxis (54.6%) and the metro (38.0%) were the most frequently used means of transport in the city, ahead of buses (13.8%).

 The expenditure

• Average expenditure: Expense on accommodation per person per day was 170.0€ (+5.6% Var. 23/22), 554.6€ on the transport of arrival (+2.5% Var. 23/22) and 600.7€ on congress registration (+11.3% Var. 23/22). In six out of ten cases, these costs were assumed by the company or institution. The congresses of Barcelona city registered higher expenditure in all three aspects than those in the rest of the region.
• Expense during the stay: Congress participants spent an average of an additional €85.2 per person per day (-24.1% Var. 23/22). The item on which the most money was spent was food (66.0%). In Barcelona city, once again, spending during the stay per person per day was higher than in the region (92.7€ vs. 56.8€).

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The 2023 Congress Market Survey was carried out among those attending congresses held in Destination Barcelona in 2022, 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, which was carried out for the first time in Barcelona city in 1993 and in Barcelona region in 2018, has taken into account the OTB's three usual geographical areas of work: Barcelona city, Barcelona region and Destination Barcelona.

2023 Congress Market Survey. Results report

More information: bcb@barcelonaturisme.com