With this conclusion the president of the Tourism Council of the CEOE, Juan Cierco, closed yesterday the III Innovation Summit Business Travel & MICE (ISBTM2025) in Madrid. From July 2 to 3, more than 400 professionals from the business travel and corporate events sector discussed the major challenges, but also the opportunities of a sector that represents 20% of national tourism.
Throughout 15 sessions, the four issues currently having the greatest impact on a sector that is not always so well known were discussed: intelligent digitization, comprehensive sustainability, the transformation of MICE and the human factor as a driver of competitiveness. In addition, participants have emphasized issues such as the need to develop interoperable reservation systems and travel services, the balanced application of artificial intelligence, the reinforcement of public-private collaboration and a social approach that goes beyond mere CO² offsets.
Technology with purpose: less noise and more concrete actions
The first round table, "The hidden face of travel: intelligent solutions in corporate travel", highlighted the role of the travel manager and technology as a means to fulfill travel policies and improve the traveler's experience. Carlos Martín (American Express) and Ana Soledad Rincón (Gesovi) agreed that “technology is a means, not an end” and that solutions that offer greater flexibility and personalization are the ones that work best. A reflection that was repeated in subsequent debates in which less apps and more innovation that humanizes digitization were requested: "It is not a matter of burdening with applications that lack utility," said Elena Peyró (Joinup).
ESG mobility: beyond CO offsetting?
Another of the topics discussed was the social and governance dimension of sustainability, with reflections such as that of Leticia Alcalá (Lufthansa Group), who celebrated that “CO offset products? offset products are increasingly in demand, but warned that "being sustainable is not cheaper, you have to convince the customer through transparency and rigorous measurement". The need to homogenize carbon footprint data sources and the importance of the duty of care, or duty of care to protect the traveler on the part of the company, were also discussed.
MICE: resilience, diversification and impact data
Luis Gandiaga, president of Foro MICE, opened the July 3 conference by stressing that "meetings, events and incentive tourism is not about filling rooms, but about generating business and development. According to Forum estimates, the direct economic impact of the activity reaches 20,000 million euros, with an indirect impact of 40,000 million. Gandiaga claimed “ “more MICE community and trainingó n before the concentration movements that are coming”.
When the rice is burned…
There were workshops such as “Show cooking. Cooking an event”, where Eva Bartolomé (Nutreco) tracedó the planning phases and warnedó that “65% of the problems can be anticipated and 89% of the é success depends on the ability to adaptó. The soft skills session "When the rice is burnt" shared real experiences of event planners from companies such as Teva, Logicalis, Telefonica, Teldat, Hydrafacial or Molins, about incidents resolved in corporate events, highlighting the value of improvisation and teamwork.
?Legacy or posturing in destinations?
Closing the meeting, the round table "Legacy or posturing in destinations: sustainability without makeup" focused on the need to move from marketing to facts. Javier Peña, director of the Burgos Convention Bureau, claimed the role of medium-sized destinations to implement "real and verifiable measures", beyond the big headlines; Julia Álvarez de Toledo, from Turismo y Planificación Costa del Sol, unpacked its local certification program and carbon footprint calculator for travelers; and Angeles Ballesta, of the Murcia Convention Bureau, alerted about regulatory and budgetary barriers, stressing the urgency of public-private collaboration.private.