The Turisme de Barcelona (Barcelona Tourism Office) recently presented statistics for the 2010 professional meetings industry at the annual assembly of its Barcelona Convention Bureau (BCB). The assembly, which was attended by 200 professionals from the sector, concluded that 2010 was a fruitful year for meetings and incentives.
The year saw impressive numbers from the North American market, with it having grown by over 35% in 2010 from 2009. Additionally, North America represents 20% of the international market and the U.S. market is the second international market beyond the U.K.
Currently, the international market represents, in terms of delegates, 84.3% of business, while the local Spanish market share is 15.7%. In 2010, the city hosted 2,138 meetings, representing 616,833 delegates. The number of meetings held last year was up 15.1% over the 2009 figures. The increase drove the number of delegates who attended meetings in Barcelona 7.1% over the previous year's figures.