The MICE industry is experiencing a period of dynamic change and challenges. The meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) segment is clearly recovering better from the pandemic than traditional business travel. While traditional business trips and smaller meetings are increasingly being conducted digitally, people are particularly drawn to large-scale events.
The latest edition of the Meeting & Event Barometer, conducted by the German National Tourist Board, the GCB German Convention Bureau and the European Association of Event Centres, provides exciting insights into the developments and trends shaping the industry.
Findings from the Meeting & Event Barometer:
Growth in the MICE segment
The number of events in Germany rose to just under 2.2 million last year, which corresponds to around 74 per cent of pre-coronavirus levels. In comparison, experts estimate the recovery in traditional business travel to be more in the region of 65 to 70 per cent.
Major events on the rise
Events such as trade fairs, conferences and meetings now account for 58 per cent of all business travel.
Participation in congresses and conferences rose by a good 7 per cent in 2023, now accounting for 37 per cent of the entire business travel segment.
Trade fairs attract 13 per cent of all business travellers, and incentives around 7 per cent.
In-person events dominate
Of the 2.1 million on-site corporate events, 1.8 million were purely in-person events, while hybrid events accounted for only 0.3 million.
Significant increase in participant numbers At 311 million
, the total number of participants in 2023 was 69 per cent higher than in the previous year.
Large events (over 100 participants) recorded growth of 3.6 per cent, while smaller events saw a decline of around 5 per cent.
Good booking situation for conference hotels
Almost 90 per cent of event organisers say that 2024 will be a good to very good year.
76 per cent of hotels and other venues also rate the booking situation for the coming months as good to very good.
Personnel situation remains problematic
87 per cent of event organisers and 93 per cent of hotels report occasional bottlenecks.
34 per cent of providers state that they are unable to fully meet their needs, which nevertheless represents a significant improvement compared to the previous year, when this figure was 54 per cent.
Optimistic outlook
Both event planners and providers expect the MICE industry to continue growing. Further growth is anticipated particularly for purely on-site events.
GCB Managing Director Matthias Schultze aptly sums up the optimism in the industry: “Business events remain places where people come together to develop answers to the big questions of our time. Especially in a virtual working world, people long for real encounters, direct networking and the building of communities.” – Quote from fvw
For more detailed findings and in-depth insights into current trends and challenges in the MICE industry, visit gcb.de.
Integration of modern technology into the MICE industry through ehotel®
ehotel® leverages developments in digitalisation to simplify the organisation of conferences and events. Our platform enables you to quickly and efficiently find tailor-made offers that are tailored to your specific needs – an invaluable resource in a world where saving time is synonymous with saving money.
Sustainable event planning with ehotel®
ehotel® enables you to specifically select business hotels that meet green, certified sustainability standards.
Integration of electric mobility
With our new filter function, made possible by innovative meta-search technology, ehotel® is setting sustainable standards. You can now search specifically for hotels that have e-charging stations. This contributes to improving the charging infrastructure and promotes sustainability in transport. Details on the types of charging stations can be found in the hotel descriptions on our portal.
ehotel® makes hotels’ carbon footprints visible
As a hotel booking platform, ehotel® considers itself responsible not only for operating in a climate-friendly manner, but also for featuring “green” hotels. Together with the climate protection experts at ClimatePartner, ehotel® determines the carbon footprint for the desired hotel stay.
Efficient participant management with ehotel®
The ehotel® participant management system optimises the administration of your event participants and supports:
• Detailed planning and coordination: All participants and service providers are comprehensively managed.
• Comprehensive process support: Invitations, registrations, invoice processing, quota retrieval and more.
• Modular structure: Adaptable to your specific needs, saving time and costs.
Conferences with ehotel®
Plan your conferences efficiently with ehotel® and benefit from:
• Tailor-made offers: Fast and precise, tailored to your requirements such as number of participants and conference rooms.
• Comprehensive hotel and location database: Over 20,000 conference hotels and event locations, including more than 15,000 in Germany.
• Time and cost savings: Take advantage of our negotiated framework agreement conditions and maintain full budget control with ehotel®.
Plan your next event with ehotel® and discover how our tools can help you save time and use your resources more effectively. Book your next conference or learn more about our participant management system to take your events to the next level.
Conferences with ehotel®: Conference booking Plan
events with ehotel® participant management: Participant management
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