Optimism in the sector: 50% of event agencies expect to increase their business volume
Event agencies are living a very sweet moment. At a meeting held by AEVEA with industry professionals last week in Barcelona, the figures provided by the association's latest study show that 50% of agencies expect an increase in business volume this year, while 65% rate 2024 as a good or excellent year.
Under the title “The MICE industry, challenges and opportunities”, organized by AEVEA, in collaboration with Barcelona Convention Bureau at the Torre Glòries space in the Catalan capital, the conference counted with the participation of Miquel Rodríguez, manager of Economic Promotion of Barcelona City Council; Liquel Rodríguez, manager of Economic Promotion of Barcelona; Liacute;guez, manager of Economic Promotion of Barcelona City Council; Barcelona Convention Bureau; Barcelona Convention Bureau and Barcelona Convention Bureau;Miquel Rodríguez, manager of Economic Promotion of the Barcelona City Council; Luis Gandiaga, president of the MICE Forum; Christoph Tessmar, director of the Barcelona Convention Bureau; and Mariano Rodríguez, president of AEVEA.
During the session, Ariadna Sendra, vice president of AEVEA, shared some of the achievements made by AEVEA in the last few years and highlighted the importance of growing in membership to continue working and undertake all that lies ahead to professionalize the industry.
Mariano Rodríguez, president of AEVEA, moderated the table and began by highlighting the results of AEVEAPulse 2024, the annual study that analyzes the behavior and trends of the corporate events and MICE sector in Spain.
The data show the strength and dynamism of the sector:
-Nearly 65% of agencies rate 2024 as a good or excellent year.
-80% consider it better or much better than the previous year.
-Growth is increasingly distributed: 16% of the agencies exceed 20M€ annual turnover, 19% are between 10 and 20M€ 22% between 5 and 10M€ and 27% between 2 and 5M€.
The forecasts for 2025 reinforce the optimism: more than 50% of agencies expect to increase their turnover.
As for the most active sectors, pharmaceuticals leads with 62.2%, followed by automotive (56.2%) and automobiles (56.2%);n (56.8%), food & beverage (43.2%), sports (35.1%) and tourism (32.4%).
The speakers agreed that the sector is going through a period of transformation and acceleration, with sustainability, attraction and fidelity and fidelity;s, talent attraction and retention, as well as professionalization as major challenges. In addition, they underlined the strategic role of events as an economic, social and investment attraction engine for the city.
The session brought to the table strategic issues such as the role of events as an economic engine and lever for other sectors, the importance of diversifying sectors (health, digital/IA, creative industries), the value of talent as the axis of competitiveness, the need for data and measurement to reinforce our recognition as an industry.
The meeting also focused on other important issues, from the alignment of the city-economic sectors strategy, to the creation of more flexible regulatory frameworks or the decentralization of events to new urban spaces.
As Mariano Rodríz, president of AEVEA, said, “our sector not only generates memorable and transformative experiences, it is also an economic and knowledge engine. We are living in a time full of opportunities that we must face with vision, reliable data and a clear commitment to sustainability.