Madrid: a safe destination for MICE tourism in the British market

The city of Madrid began its 2021 promotions for tourism last January, presenting the city to some twenty British travel agencies. This event, organised by the City Council’s Tourism Department, through the Madrid Convention Bureau (MCB), covered all the measures and changes put in place to make the capital a safe and reliable destination for events. The aim is to disseminate the city’s image among professionals in the UK sector and make Madrid a leading destination for MICE tourism.

11 companies associated with the MCB took part in this event, representing the different sectors of the tourism industry in Madrid. The presentation was broadcast live from the Palacio de Neptuno to the invited British agencies. These agencies were able to participate via an interactive game, thanks to simple questions and activities, allowed them to find out essential information about Madrid as a destination for work-related travel and other fun facts.

Plan of action for 2021

Promoting the city as a destination for MICE tourism is key to Madrid’s touristic plan of action in 2021. This is a fundamental task being carried out by the City Council’s Tourism Department, through the MCB, which helps contribute directly to the development of tourism, the economy, industry and commerce in the capital. This first presentation, aimed at the British market, will be followed by other similar sessions for agencies from France and Germany.

This year will see a return to face-to-face participation in trade fairs. However, we will continue to follow guidelines which are suitable to the circumstances and evolution of the pandemic.

Balance of activity in 2020

Throughout 2020, the City Council’s Tourism Department and MCB have been working tirelessly to continue promoting the capital as a destination for MICE tourism and providing all their support to their member companies and the Madrid tourism sector as a whole, offering them all their experience and resources. Additionally, during this time period, new tools and initiatives were launched and Madrid was presented with three awards, consolidating the city as one of the most competitive business tourism destinations in the world.

During 2020, a total of 55 promotional, training and networking actions were carried out aimed at different issuing markets, MCB member companies and associations linked to this organisation.

In terms of training activities and in-house events, five webinars were organised with more than 800 attendees; three training sessions for more than 600 participants; 12 online professional meetings, which brought together 600 participants; three face-to-face conferences for around twenty companies; and 14 sectoral meetings with MCB members, which were attended by a total of 140 companies. 

We also continued to support the holding of meetings in the capital and the presentation of candidatures for the hosting of new congresses and corporate events.

Something very important has been the development of information work projects and the creation of new tools, such as the MICE Sustainability Guide or the infographics, explanatory guide, safe events checklist and videos in relation to health safety in Madrid, to ensure that MICE events are safe.

In 2020, Madrid was chosen as the best meeting tourism destination in the world for the second time in a row (World Travel Awards). In the regional edition, the capital was selected, for the third consecutive year, as the best meeting tourism destination in Europe. The capital also won the award for the best MICE destination on the European continent at the first edition of the World MICE Awards.